Worlds Apart
by SirGecko
Summary: Sequel to: New Ties Created-- Felix, Jenna, Sheba, and Piers acidentally get sent to Earth by the Wise One, and Isaac and crew are sent By the Wise to rescue them. But back home, the Wise One's up to something. Something shady. Something terrible . . .
1. A Summoning

Hello, and never goodbye! Don't look behind you, but it's me, SirGecko, finally getting off his ass to do the sequel he promised almost three months ago!

~Flame Gecko (George)~

Sorry. But I agree with what the flame gecko wrote. I've finally posted the first chapter for the sequel to New Ties Created. It's not much, but a start to a story I'm really going to enjoy writing. It's different from what I originally stated in the afterthoughts of New Ties Created, but better. It's going to have the content I mentioned there, but also a new twist I"m certain you'll enjoy. But with the good comes boring, and this chapter may be it. It's just the start of the story so bear with me.

And . . . no responses to do, this is the beginning of the story, I've finally started it . . . I think we're set-- oh yeah, the bloody disclaimer.

I DO NOT OWN GOLDEN SUN. IF I DID, I'D BE MUCH CLEVERER AND MORE TALENTED THAN I AM RIGHT NOW.

So, are you ready? Onto chapter 1! 

Chapter 1: A Summoning

Previously:

"Checkmate!" said Lunora, giggling.

"Dammit!" shouted Ivan. "Why in the Hell is it that you beat me at every game I suggest?" 

"I'm just good," said Lunora, now laughing.

Ivan continued to grumble, and then Isaac spoke up. "We're headed over to meet the Wise One. Let's go."

"Right now?" said Ivan sarcastically. "Darn. I was gonna see whether I could get the crap beat out of me in a round of checkers."

"You're such a sore loser," said Lunora playfully, kissing his hand. 

"Don't worry, I stink at checkers," said Isaac. "But let's go. I wanna get this lecture over with."

Both Ivan and Lunora nodded, and they all went back down the stairs, and met up with Garet, Mia, and Solaris, who were chatting. When they saw that Isaac, Ivan, and Lunora were ready, they followed them out the doorway, and down the stairs into the main part of Vale.

On the way, several people greeted them jovially, seeming to celebrate their return, not to mention the good weather. It had been pleasant all week; Dora had even mentioned the fact that the day before Isaac and company returned home, it had been sweltering hot.

They walked up the stairs in the northern part of town, and proceeded up the pathway to Sol Sanctum. They slowly opened the elegant doors, and entered. The hallway was cool, as usual, and gave off the appearance of a mystical, yet powerful place.

They didn't have to walk far to see the Wise One hovering in their path. They all prepared themselves for a good, long lecture, but the eye of the Wise One was darting around, as though in fear.

"I originally wanted you to come because I wanted to discuss your quest with you," said the Wise One. "But, that has to wait. There's something much more important going on here."

"What could that be?" asked Isaac, looking somewhat surprised. He'd never seen the Wise One look worried, except for the time when he and Garet had set off around the world.

"I made a terrible mistake," said the Wise One. "And now . . . we have a serious problem."

Present:

"What sort of problem?" asked Garet. "What could possibly go wrong now?"

"Yeah, Alchemy's only been restored for just over a week!" said Ivan.

"It has nothing to do with Alchemy," said the Wise One. "Otherwise I would not be as concerned. You have much experience in dealing with Alchemy. No, this . . . this is a much more different and dangerous matter."

"Well then, what is it?" asked Solaris, looking slightly worried.

"You might be aware that I had Felix, Jenna, Sheba, and Piers come here for a dimensional-traveling exercise, to possibly find and detect other civilizations and worlds outside out own?" asked the Wise One.

"Yeah, we heard," said Garet.

"Well, we found a world," said the Wise One. "A world called Earth. This world has a civilized culture, and humans, just like you. But, there are four major differences between Earth and Weyard."

The Adepts were more than stunned at hearing the news of other worlds and advanced civilizations outside their own. It was amazing! They were bursting with questions. Questions like, "Where is this Earth?" and "How many people live there?" and "What is it like?". But they waited patiently for the Wise One to finish explaining everything.

"What are they?" asked Garet apprehensively.

"Well, the first difference is that Earth is bigger, far bigger. About ten Weyards would cover its surface. The second difference is that Earth is round, not flat. The third difference is that they are a far-more advanced civilization than our own. About a thousand years ahead of us."

"Wow, this place sounds really interesting," said Ivan. "I wonder what else this Earth has to offer?"

"But you haven't heard the fourth difference," said the Wise One. "Although Earthers are far more advanced, they have a much different way of life than ours. No traveling warriors, no elemental lighthouses, and . . . virtually no Adepts of any elemental type."

"What?!" shouted the group.

"Yes," said the Wise One. "There are no adepts of Venus, Mercury, Sol, or Luna on Earth, and very few of the remaining. The population is estimated to be many millions more than Weyard, and there are probably about only ten Jupiter Adepts on Earth, and maybe 300 Mars."

"That's it?" said Ivan, looking both surprised and confused. The Wise One blinked in response. 

Despite this striking news, they still didn't understand what this had to do with Felix, Jenna, Sheba, and Piers. I mean, this Earth didn't have anything to do with them, unless . . . oh no.

"What happened to Jenna?" asked Garet. 

"And Felix?" asked Mia.

"Well . . . they're on Earth," said the Wise One slowly. "The only problem is . . . I can't get them back. They're trapped on Earth forever . . . unless you can rescue them. You're the only ones."

Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia all whistled, and leaned against the wall to absorb this latest bit of news. They all noticed how cold it was in the chamber for some reason. Cold . . . cold, dark, and mysterious . . . just like the path they would take if they were to rescue Felix, Jenna, Sheba, and Piers. But then, they all realized that it was their only way out. And they reached a silent agreement.

"We'll do it," said Isaac. "We have to, if it's their only way back."

"Good," said the Wise One evenly. "I know where each of them is, and thankfully, they're all pretty close together. I've got a map drawn up for you concerning the area in which you need to travel to find them."

"When do you want us to leave?" asked Ivan.

"As soon as possible," said the Wise One. "Like I mentioned earlier, this place is vastly different from our world, and the chances of the four getting lost, captured, or killed are very high. It's best to get moving now." 

"But wait . . . what will we need?" asked Solaris.

"Gold . . . that's very valuable on Earth," said the Wise One. "But you'll need to leave all your weapons here. Also, once on Earth, your Psynergy skills will be vastly depleted, so use it conservatively, and only in extreme measures. It will be quite something for Earthers to see someone drown by a stream of water that they can't see."

"We understand," said Lunora. "Me and Solaris can be ready by tomorrow."

"So can I," Ivan chimed in.

"Me too," added Mia.

"Uh . . . started Garet hesitantly. "It's going to be tough breaking to our folks that we have to leave again so soon, and under the circumstances . . ."

"I will tell them," said the Wise One. "They will not question my word," he said. "Trust me. You'll be ready by tomorrow."

The Adepts nodded, and exited.

*******

Isaac was bustling around his house, checking and double-checking everything he would need for the trip. It was all hard to remember. He'd been given several scrolls of information by the Wise One regarding Earth, and he had now checked to make sure they were in his bag for the fifth time. His money bag was in there too, and some non-perishable food.

He hated to part with his trusty Gaia Blade. It made him feel naked somehow, exposed, vulnerable. And he didn't expect it to be any better on Earth with his Psynergy skills depleted. But, he had scanned the scrolls given to him by the Wise One, and he read that anyone caught with a blade would be locked up in a jail similar to those on Weyard. So he knew better than to take it with him. Maybe he could find a weapon of defense on the planet.

But what was most difficult for him was to confront his mother on the issue. He felt guilty in a way, him being the rather shy, and conscious of his actions and how they might affect other people. His mom looked worried and afraid, but accepted the circumstances nonetheless.

"I hate to see you leave so soon," she said thickly. "But you've traveled all around Weyard. What's a small section of another world going to mean?"

"Mom, I really don't want to leave here, but I've got to get Felix, Jenna, Sheba, and Piers, it's their only chance," said Isaac, hugging his mom tightly. 

"I know, I know," she said. "It's just that I always worry about you. I lived with it for over a year, and now I have to go through it again . . . oh well. Like I said, I understand."

She broke the hug, and sniffed, turning away to dab at her eyes, while Isaac watched uncomfortably. He hated seeing his mom worry about him, even though it was a sign of affection, in a way. Then Dora turned around and shoved him toward the stairs.

"Now, you'd better get a good night's sleep," she said forcefully. "I want you all rested up before you leave tomorrow."

"I'm gonna go and help Garet pack," said Isaac. "To make sure he doesn't forget anything. You know how he forgets things sometimes when it's important . . ." 

His mom laughed. "Yes, that's a good idea, but make it quick. Is an hour long enough?"

"Yeah," said Isaac, dashing out the door.

*******

"Dammit, where did I put it?"

Garet was turning his already small, messy room inside out, looking for the salami he intended to pack with him. It was nowhere to be found, and Garet was getting really irritated with himself. He had everything packed (his bulging bag had a loaf of bread and a pair of socks sticking out of it) except for that nice, juicy salami his parents let him take.

It was no easy business confronting his relatives with the news, even though the Wise One had already visited them about it. They were all sort of numb, like zombies. They didn't know how to react, despite Garet's most sincere reassurance that he would be just fine. They nodded wordlessly and told him to go get ready. 

Garet sighed, a pair of shorts clutched in his fist as he stared at the Sol Blade leaning against the wall next to his bedroom door. It sure was weird being without a metal weapon, seeing as he'd handled one for over a year. 

"Garet! Open up!" 

Garet crossed the room swiftly and opened the door to find Isaac standing there, looking smug, with a nice, fat salami clutched in his hand. Garet's face lit up at the sight of it.

"Hey there it is! Where did you find it?" 

"I tripped over it."

"Oops," said Garet sheepishly. "I must have dropped it on my way up the stairs. Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine," said Isaac, stepping into the dimly-lit room, and looking around. He handed Garet his salami. "Have you got everything?"

"I do now," Garet replied, walking over and shoving the salami into his pack. In his effort to close it up, it started to tear along the side. Cursing, he managed to patch it up quickly, and finally, close it. He turned to Isaac. "So, how did your mom react?"

"As I thought she would," Isaac sighed. "Worrying to death, sad to see me go, yet understanding why. What about your folks?"

"The same," Garet mumbled. "Only they were much more quiet, as if talking to me might make something bad happen to them . . . I don't know. But I'm glad I'm going . . . I'm really worried about Jenna."

"Are you two going steady?" asked Isaac.

This brought a smile to Garet's lips. "Gee Isaac, for being involved with someone for so long, you sure are naive when it comes to someone else."

They sat and talked about various things for the remainder of Isaac's hour, mostly about the coming journey, but also about Mia, Jenna, Ivan and Lunora. Guy talk. 

*******

Goodbyes were always hard. 

Isaac and Garet hated goodbyes, they were always long and usually painful. So, they made sure that the goodbyes between relatives were short and as tear-less as possible. It didn't work, though, their relatives all got teary. It was hard for Isaac and Garet themselves to keep a straight face. But finally, they met up with Ivan, Mia, Solaris, and Lunora at the sanctum, and they all trudged up to the Sol Sanctum itself.

After weaving through the unnecessarily-long passages and corridors of Sol Sanctum, they finally saw the Wise One, who noticed them and approached. He looked grim . . . well, as grim as a floating rock could.

"Well, are you ready to do this?" he asked quietly.

"As ready as we'll ever be," said Mia, hoisting her bag into a better position on her back.

"Then follow me," said the Wise One.

He floated down the corridor silently and wordlessly, and the rest followed after him, all looking apprehensive. They tried not to think about what was going to happen, about what they were going to do. They didn't want to have second thoughts about going.

Eventually, they reached a point in a particularly long corridor. The Wise One's eye glowed for a second, and then a section of the wall melted away to reveal a secret room, much like the one that took Isaac and Company from Champa to here over a week ago. The Wise One floated in, and the group tagged behind.

"Here it is," said the Wise One. "The portal between here and Earth. You can all travel at the same time, or go individually if you like."

"All at once," said Isaac immediately.

"Yeah, if we go one at a time, we might get separated," said Lunora. 

"Very well. Step onto the portal."

The group obeyed wordlessly. Once on, they all shut their eyes. They never felt it. Never knew that the Wise One had already transported them to Earth, until they opened their eyes and realized that they were no longer in Sol Sanctum, but in a shack. The portal glowed slightly. They instantly knew that this was an ideal place because nobody was likely to stumble onto it. 

The group all looked around, to make sure everyone was present and accounted for. When this was attained, Isaac stepped forward towards the door leading outside. 

"Are you ready for this?" he asked. 

"Do it," said Mia.

"Yep, let's go," said Ivan.

"Let's get them back quickly," said Lunora. 

Isaac pushed the door open, the dazzling sun blinding them all.

*******

Worlds away, the Wise One floated on the top of Sol Sanctum.

"Phase one . . . complete."

************************ 

I'm saying nothing.

Please, please review. I know my old fans have probably forgotten me, but if you see this, review please! New readers are welcome also.

And the Geckos, with the new year, have gotten meaner, so I'd review if you know what's good for you (picks at the 23 burn stitches in left hand).

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!

~SirGecko~ 

  
  



	2. Modern Planning, Modern Parting

Hah! Thought I'd flake out on you again, eh? No. I, SirGecko, am acually going to keep up with this thing, no matter how awkward it seems. . . . hey, YOU try putting the GS gand in a modern city without making it insane!

Oh, and by the way, you may have noticed that I changed the genre of the story to Suspense/Romance. Because, even though there's a lot of adventuring in it, I think of what's to come and suspense really strikes me as primary ^_-. And, I changed the secondary genre to romance because there still will be romance in it, don't think I've gone all serious from all the Babylon 5 episodes I watched . . . no. In all seriousness, there will still be romance.

And . . . I guess it's time for the review responses! I got seven of them! Not bad for three months doing nothing, eh? More than I deserved . . .

Sukasa the Third: No, I'm not dead, just in a writing coma. And Ivan seemed vulgar? Hmmm . . . it was not intended. He's still gonna be his sarcastic old self.

NintendoGamer: Yes, something's up with the Wise One, it seems. But I'm not saying anything. ^_^

QueenDragonGoddess: You know, for some reason I thought you'd not given up hope on me yet. You seemed so intrigued by New Ties Created that I had some faith in the fact that you'd be checking for this . . . ^_^ Anyway, I'm glad you've kept interest this long. And this chapter's even longer than the 

last. I'm goooood . . . 

moon man: Are you new to this story? If so, you might want to read the first in the series, New Ties Created. But thanks for the review. And don't, pleeease, give those geckos missile launchers. If you do, I may not be alive to update again! ^_^

Great Saiyaman: Welcome back, old friend! I'm glad you liked my start. Probably more than I did . . . and just to plese you, there will be some more Ivan/Lunora in this story. I know you like that pairing, but why? It fascinates me, and I'd like it if you explained to me why you like it so much.

Anime-Master7: I greatly apologize for my poor timing . . . but how was the first chapter? You never said. Oh, and to help insure that you'll be first to review, you can put me on your author alert list. That way, whenever I update, you'll receive a notification by e-mail, telling you that I've updated my newest chapter, and you'll get to read and review it, too. Does that help?

Ssonic: I'm glad you find it interesting. And you've got an idea going about what the Wise One's up to? Well, you're on the right train of thought . . . and I know I waited long enough, I'm such an ass . . .

Okay, I think that about wraps it up. Onto chapter 2! 

  
  
  
  


Chapter 2: Modern Planning, Modern Parting

Isaac and company were speechless.

Nothing could have prepared them for this. I mean, they had all studied the scrolls that the Wise One had given them, but to see everything they described for real . . . it was unlike anything they'd ever seen before.

The Golden Sun Crew had been transported to the Suburban area of Seattle, Washington. Cars were zooming by, horns were blaring, and smokestacks belched pollutants into the air, which made Ivan wince slightly. He noticed how much more damaged his element was in this world; this Wise One had informed him of this. 

The other members of the group also noticed the change. Mia seemed to already be weak; but Garet and Isaac seemed to be okay, only a little weaker. Lunora and Solaris were unaffected. But that didn't mean that they weren't affected by the new surroundings.

"Wow . . ." said Isaac, looking around at the tall buildings. He noticed a particularly odd-shaped one, but it reminded him of a very large sewing needle.

"What have they done to the water here?" said Mia. "It's all green and brown! Not at all like the waters of Weyard. It's all polluted!"

"Remember, we came here to do a job," said Solaris firmly. "Personally, I want to do it and get out. Look . . . people are already staring at us."

This was true. Passerby on the sidewalks were throwing them gazes that told Isaac and company that they were thought of as insane. They could tell why, too. When they compared their robes, sheaths, and elegant dresswear to the very casual attire of the passerby, they knew that they must look weird.

"Here, hand me the scrolls, Garet," said Lunora. 

Garet fished around in his bag (the salami fell out onto the sidewalk in the search process) for the scrolls. When he found them (slightly crinkled and ripped), he passed them to Lunora, who took them and unfurled one of them.

"'Modern dresswear must be worn to avoid being too noticed,'" she read aloud. "'First, you must go to a building called a bank, and get your gold coins exchanged for the paper currency they use. Once this is done, go to a clothing store (this will be easy to find, as the clothes will be displayed in the window) and purchase some modern clothes. Particularly flashy ones, so that you won't appear to be poor. Poor people aren't afforded the same luxuries as the wealthier in this world.'"

They looked around for any of the buildings mentioned in the scrolls by the Wise One. They didn't see any of them in sight.

"Well, we should keep this building in mind," said Isaac. "This is our only ticket home, and we'll have to drop off our original clothing here once we get changed."

"Okay . . . let's look around for a few landmarks we'll remember," said Garet. "Look out there, that's a ship. We could use that."

"But we don't know how long that ship is going to stay there Garet," said Ivan. "If it leaves and that's our reference, we're screwed."

"Oh yeah, that's right," said Garet. "Well . . ."

"How about that golden statue of an eagle right there?" asked Mia. "I doubt that's going there anytime soon."

"Good idea," said Solaris. "We'll remember that."

They turned around all of a sudden, realizing that they didn't know what the building they had come out of looked like. It was a small, rundown shack, an ideal place for concealing something as important as their gateway between Weyard and where they were. 

"Well . . . let's find a bank then," said Isaac. And so they started on their way.

They walked along the side of the street in silence, trying not to look at anybody who was passing them. But, that still didn't stop them from feeling the stares and the whispering of passerby. They felt very awkward.

"Hey, let's take a look at the map," said Mia. "The Wise One probably marked on it where we could find Felix, Jenna, Sheba, and Piers."

"Garet picked out the map from the number of scrolls he had clutched in his hand, and unfurled that as well.

The map consisted entirely of the western half of the United States and Canada. On one corner of the map, it compared Weyard to the size of The states Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, marked on the map. Weyard was slightly larger in area than these three states. The city they were in, Seattle, appeared to be in the state of Washington. Another dot was labeled in the city of Seattle.

Sheba.

"Well, it appears as if we won't have to go very far to get her," said Solaris.

"Piers is in Oregon, in a city called Portland," said Garet. "That's just south of the river that separates Washington and Oregon."

"Whoa, Jenna's a long ways away, in a city called Reno, Nevada," said Isaac. 

"Felix is a ways off too," chimed in Lunora. "He's in Alaska. Southern Alaska. I hear it's pretty cold up there."

"Here's a bank," said Ivan, pointing at the building in front of them. 

They looked up, and saw a small building with a clear glass front that said "BANK" on it, along with the name of the company who owned it. Feeling slightly happier at having been able to find one of the places on the list, they hurried over to the bank and pulled open the door to walk inside. 

Attracting even more stares inside, they looked directly ahead and approached the nearest available teller. Hoping that she could do what they wanted, they went up to her. She was an elderly lady, wearing a green suit with glasses, attached to her neck by a beaded string.

"May I help you?" the teller asked.

"Uh . . . hi, we need to exchange money," said Isaac.

"Well, you've come to the right place," said the teller. "If you'll just fill this out, I-" 

She stopped dead when she saw the gold coins fall out onto the counter from Isaac's money pouch. Her mouth slightly open, she reached out and took the gold coins, examining them very closely. After a few minutes or so, she spoke again.

"Well, they're definitely not fake . . ." she started. "It's just that . . . well, I've never seen this much gold in my life."

"I guess the Wise One was right when he said that gold was rare here," observed Garet.

"Pardon?" asked the teller.

"Oh nothing, just talking about a friend," said Ivan quickly, throwing a glare at Garet.

"I don't know if I can exchange these . . . I'll have to weigh them. Gold runs at about 340 dollars an ounce," she said. She paused for a minute. "Hang on while I weigh this coin."

She took one of the gold coins from the small pile on the counter and disappeared behind a door in the back. She was gone for a minute or two, and then she came back, the gold coin clutched in her hand. 

"Well, on second thought, I think I can exchange them, but not more than a hundred. These weigh, coincidentally, exactly one ounce each."

Isaac carefully counted out the gold coins, and then dumped out some more. He counted until he reached one hundred, and then shoved them over to the teller, who took them. She sighed deeply and asked if they wanted the money in a check or in dollar bills. Having heard the latter from the Wise One, they asked for it in bills. She whistled, muttering, "cash. Must be important . . ."

She disappeared into the back room again, and this time she was gone for a good ten minutes or so. When she returned, she was carrying four wads of cash. She handed the money to each of them.

"There you are," she said. "Eight-thousand, five-hundred dollars each. That totals to $34000. Have a nice day."

"Thanks," said Isaac. 

"Wait a minute," said Ivan, suddenly getting an idea. "Do you have any idea where we could find a clothing store?"

"Why yes, just down the street that way," said the teller, pointing to her left."

"Thank you," said Lunora. They exited the bank.

"Well, now we can get some clothes that won't draw so much attention to us," said Solaris.

"Yeah, hold on while I feel the blisters from the burning stares I got," said Ivan. "It made me feel so uneasy."

"Me too, but let's get going. The more time we waste, the more things that could happen to Felix, Jenna, Sheba and Piers," said Mia. 

"Right. Let's get going," said Isaac.

They set off down the sidewalk in the direction that the lady had pointed. After walking for a few minutes, they came across a large department store. Going inside, they made their way to the clothing department.

"Wow, these people have some damn weird styles," said Garet.

"And I bet they think the exact same about us," said Isaac, looking through a shirt rack.

It took them awhile to select their attire. They paid for their items, and asked if there was a place where they could change into them. The clerk nodded, and pointed behind her at a large sign that said "Dressing Rooms". They thanked her and made their way into separate stalls.

Isaac was the first to come out of the room with his new outfit. He was dressed in a plain-white long-sleeved shirt, with bright-red streaks running down it. The t-shirt made his muscles (from all his sword-training) stick out slightly, and black pants. It was tough to get used to, but after fidgeting slightly, he found that it was rather comfortable. 

Ivan emerged next. He was wearing a dark-blue t-shirt that shined slightly and had white streaks running up and down the sleeves, and a black pair of jeans. 

"Weird, isn't it?" Ivan remarked. 

"I'll say," said Isaac, laughing. "But you look good in your stuff. I couldn't find anything that would match me."

"Well, you look fine, and it's not like we're here to look good, anyway."

"Holy hell! This looks insane!"

Garet had just come up behind them, wearing a shirt that was bright-yellow, and had orange flames rising up the short sleeves and down the length of the front and back, and he also wore black jeans. He was looking himself up and down. 

"Nice outfit," said Isaac. "I bet we look stupid, though."

"It isn't my fault, it's these weird people who put all this crap on their clothes, not to say that I don't mind the flames . . ."

"Well, don't you gentlemen look handsome."

Lunora had just come out of her stall, wearing a metallic-silver long-sleeved shirt that folded into layers just under her neck. She also bore a leather skirt and black boots. 

"I've always wanted to wear an outfit somewhat like this, but I was always living in places too cold to do so," she said. "Well, what do you think?"

Isaac and Garet nodded, smiling. Ivan came over and put an arm around her waist. "It brings out your element," he said, smiling up at her.

"That was the intent," she said, kissing his forehead. 

They turned around as they saw Solaris walking toward them, wearing a red shirt with a big, fat sun on it. He also wore black pants.

"Yeah Garet! Black all the way!" Solaris said, slapping him on the back.

"I wonder why Mia's taking so long," said Isaac.

"Well, it probably took her awhile to take off all those damn robes," said Garet. "I don't know how she doesn't bake to death in them . . ."

"What's the opposite of fire, Garet?" said Ivan.

"Water," said Garet.

"I'm impressed, you just answered your own question," said Ivan, mock-clapping. 

"Yeah, I am a genius, aren't I?" said Garet proudly, playing along with Ivan. 

"Yes, you are," he said, chuckling.

"What a well-dressed bunch we are," said Mia's voice from behind them. They turned around, and felt their eyes widen with slight shock.

Mia was wearing a tight dark-blue dress with even darker-blue bubbles all over it. The dress covered her left shoulder but exposed her right. Her shiny, sky-blue hair fell all the way down past her bare shoulder and down to her lower back. She wore a silver bracelet on her right wrist, and wore black high-heels.

"What?" she asked.

"Well . . . we just didn't . . . expect that, that's all," said Solaris. "It does look really good, though."

"I think that's why some of us were staring," said Lunora honestly.

"I don't know whether to thank you all or go buy something more casual," said Mia. 

"No you look just fine the way you are," said Ivan. "Let's get going. Do we have all our stuff?"

They all went back into their changing rooms and got their original clothing from within, and then met outside again.

"All right, let's drop this stuff back at the shack, and we'll plan ahead from there," said Isaac. The rest of the group nodded, and then walked outside together.

"We look normal now," said Garet.

"Normal for here, anyway," Solaris agreed.

Isaac walked up to Mia and slid his arm under hers. "You look beautiful," he said. 

"Why thank you," she smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "You look pretty handsome yourself."

*******

They reached the shack about twenty minutes later, checking the map and the statue to make sure that they were in the right place. They walked through the wooden door, which was rotting, and deposited their old clothes next to the portal, and then walked outside again.

"Okay, let's all get going, we need to get Sheba," said Garet.

"Hold on a minute . . . said Isaac. "I think we should split up. That way, we could get this done in a few days, and beat it out of here."

"Are you nuts? What if we get lost?" shouted Ivan.

"You won't go by yourself," said Isaac calmly. "We'll all split up into pairs, and each go find one of the four lost. Then, we can all meet back here in a few days and go get the last person."

They stood pondering this plan for a few minutes. Isaac was right, doing this would cut down considerably on the time they would have to spend on Earth. But on the other hand, six minds were better than two. Even so, they wouldn't be alone, and they could work together with just two . . .

"All right," said Garet. "It sounds okay to me. What about the rest of you?"

They all agreed. 

"Good," said Isaac. "I'll go with Mia, and we'll get Sheba here in Seattle."

"I'll go with Ivan, and we'll go get Felix," said Lunora. 

"Solaris is with me, and I'm going to get Jenna," said Garet firmly.

"We should all go together to get Jenna," said Isaac. Besides, she's pretty far away."

"So's Felix!" Garet protested. 

"I want to be there, and I'm getting Sheba first," said Isaac. "Jenna will be fine. She's always been the fiery aggressive type, and I bet she learned a lot of survival skills when she traveled with the Proxians. Okay?"

Garet had his arms folded, and was looking very stubborn. Finally though, he sighed deeply in resignation. He could see Isaac's view of things, but boy oh boy, he wanted to make sure Jenna was okay! 

"All right then, we'll go get Piers, but we hurry," he said.

"No, we'll all go slow just to piss you off," said Ivan sarcastically. "Of course we're going to hurry. I don't want to stay here any more than you do. I'm already feeling the elemental strain . . ."

They said nothing for a few minutes. The reality of the plan was that two would not see the rest for days. They had not been apart for more than a few hours since they all met, and it was going to feel very awkward. But it had to be done.

"Well, I guess this is where we separate," said Isaac uncomfortably. "You all be careful won't you?"

He went up and hugged each of those who wouldn't be traveling with them. Garet gave him the biggest hug of all, though. It was rather emotional. 

"All right, I guess we'll be seeing you in a few days," said Isaac, while Mia said her goodbyes. Then she and Isaac started walking north along the sidewalk. Garet, Ivan, Solaris, and Lunora watched until they disappeared in the mass of people walking along the sidewalks.

The rest got out their scrolls again, and looked for any description of a fast means of transportation. They all read about the taxi service, a handy organization that used the devices called cars to take people wherever they wanted to go.

"It says here that we look for a yellow car with black checker-marks on it, and a sign with a number on top," Lunora read aloud. "And then we yell 'Taxi!' and we pay them to take us where we need to go. That sounds simple enough." 

They all looked to the road, looking for a car that fitted the description of the Wise One's. They didn't have to wait long. Two taxis, one behind the other, were driving closer and closer to them, following the steady line of traffic along the road.

"Taxi!" they shouted. 

The two taxis pulled up along the curb. Ivan shook the hands of Garet and Solaris in farewell. Lunora shook Garet's hand and hugged Solaris. They then got into separate taxis.

Ivan and Lunora greeted their driver, who asked them their destination.

"Fairbanks, Alaska," said Ivan, reading the city on the map.

"Fairbanks?!" shouted the driver. "Catch a plane for that, man. I'm just a cab!"

Ivan looked at the man quizzically, but Lunora came to his rescue, remembering what the Wise One had said about money being very valuable in this world.

"We pay generously," said Lunora, drawing out a bundle of money.

The driver looked at the money, obviously intrigued. Then he gave in. "Alright, I'll take you there, but I want all of that money for the trip. It's gonna be expensive, but I think there'll be enough left over, so I'll even take you back here."

"Done and done," said Lunora, handing the driver the money. 

In the taxi in front, Garet told the driver to take them to Portland, Oregon. Their taxi turned around and headed the opposite way, south. They all turned around and watched the other taxi pull out and continue north. Toward Fairbanks. 

"Be safe," muttered Garet.

**************************

. . . . . . . . . .

This chapter felt so wierd to type out. Now, I want an opinion in your reviews. Am I doing this right? I mean really, I don't want this to be some senseless reality fic, that's my other one (which I haven't updated in four months). I guess what I'm trying to say is: is this realistic? You tell me. 

Anyway, review, or you'll find out excatly what Ice Missile feels like, courtesy of my ice Gecko . . .

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!

~SirGecko~ 


	3. Rescue Sheba, Part I

Hello, old and grey! My apologies for the delay in updating. Putting Adepts into modern Earth and making it enough to believe can be verrrrrrrry difficult.

I have updated my bio (amazing, eh?), so check it out when you get a chance. It's been greatly revised.

I'm very pleased with the amount of reviews I got. So, I'll do the responses now.

NintendoGamer: Thank you. You know, you're right. I thought about it just after I had sent it in, and thought it was pretty unbelievable. So, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna resubmit chapter two, with the content required to make it believable. And yes, Ivan is sarcastic again, much like me. And don't you go insulting midgets, good sir! I happen to be a midget! ^_^ 

QueenDragonGoddess: Thank you very much. Yes, I see where you're coming from. I'm resubmitting chapter two, and I changed something with Mia's dress. Go back and check it when you get a chance.

Anime-Master7: I see. Oh, and your bad. ^_^

moon man: uhhhhhh . . . thanks?

Black Demon567: I hope it was worth the wait. And there will be romance . . . just not as frequent as in the last story.

Great Saiyaman: You know, you and I think a lot alike. My personality reflects that of Ivan's. And I've always liked speed in a game too. It's great when you can win through speed in a game. And you're right, not many Ivan/Sheba characters are out there. But I know it's still somewhat overused, so I went with variety. Glad you like my pairing! *gives thumbs up*

Ssonic: Yes . . . veeeeery expensive. I heard that the exchange rate for gold was over $400 an ounce, so I calculated that into it. If they had cashed it all the bank would have owed them money. Imagine that!

khmerboi919: I'm glad you like my work. And sorry, no new characters, though other people will pop in here and there. But no new main characters. Sorry . . .

Well, that was fairly simple. On with chapter 3!

Chapter 3: Rescue Sheba: Part I

This was going to be impossible.

Isaac and Mia were in a city that rivaled the size of all the cities of Weyard combined. The population of this city, Seattle, was almost as much as in Weyard. And they were expected to find one person? Isaac didn't know how they would ever find her. Hopefully, they would be able to sense a telepathic distress call, or something similar. 

Another contributing factor to a disadvantage was that neither of them knew Sheba's Psynergetic abilities. For all they knew, she could send out a distress call that would cover the whole of the city, or just within a few feet of her! So, looking for her was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

They had been walking for over two hours now. Hand in hand, they were looking, or rather they were trying to sense whether Sheba was in the area or not. But they had had no luck so far. With every step they took, they were becoming more and more discouraged. There were so many things hampering their progress the chances of finding Sheba seemed next to none. 

"Did the Wise One have any idea of where Sheba might be in this city?" asked Isaac, gesturing towards the tall buildings. "We may be walking for a long time before we even get anywhere."

"No, he never mentioned it," said Mia, sighing. "But, hopefully she know that she should at least try to send out a signal, hoping that she'd be rescued."

"We can only hope," said Isaac.

They stopped for a minute and leaned against a brick wall. They were no strangers to walking for hours on end, but all the same, there were so many new things to pay attention to that their energy was exhausted.

"Well, I guess we have to think for ourselves, without the Wise One's help," said Mia. "If I were Sheba, and I needed to be rescued, where would I go?"

"Well, that's a good question," said Isaac. "I'd probably go somewhere that stands out from everywhere else."

"True," mumbled Mia, thinking to herself. "Well, this place has a lot of really tall buildings. So . . . which one looks different from all the rest?"

They scanned the skyline. All the buildings looked just the same . . . tall, gray, and large. Except that some were taller, or narrower than others next to them. Their hopes began to fade as they looked around them, as they saw more and more ordinary buildings. 

"There!" shouted Mia, pointing behind Isaac.

Isaac spun around, and looked where Mia was pointing. There, he saw a definitely interesting building. It was off in the distance somewhat. It looked like a giant needle, because there was a sharp point at the top of the building, even though the round main top made the "needle" part seem a bit strange. 

"That's as good a place as any to go, we haven't gotten any clues as to where else she might be," said Isaac. "Let's get a taxi. I don't feel like walking all the way there. We might as well make full use of this new world while we have it, right?"

"Agreed," said Mia, flagging down a passing taxi.

After telling the driver where they wanted to go, Isaac and Mia settled themselves into the backseat of the taxi. For being so small, it was quite roomy. Black leather seats, and a cool blast of air coming from the front of the car. The car itself smelled slightly like vanilla, the kind Isaac like to put in his drinks at home. The driver was friendly, and was whistling as he accepted their money. 

Buckling into the car, Isaac and Mia closed their eyes, and focused intently for any sign of Sheba. They would be able to tell if she was nearby, they were sure of it. Ivan had sent out a similar Psynergetic cry for help when he and Garet got lost in Mogall Forest. 

It seemed to take forever for the taxi to get going, probably because of the traffic. Isaac and Mia didn't really like this aspect of this world . . . noisy, crowded, and a general difficulty to navigate through. But when the taxi did get going, they were able to finally cast their minds about for a sign of Sheba.

There was total silence for the first five minutes of the drive, with the exception of Isaac's and Mia's hearts, beating slightly faster for each minute that passed by without a sign of Sheba. It seemed to take forever. There were clouds of red appearing in Isaac's vision, like you get when your eyes are screwed shut very tightly.

It then struck them both on just how much they cared for Sheba, when they hardly even knew her. The only time either had ever spoken to her was at the dinner in Lemuria, and that was mainly just "pass the bread" or something similar. Perhaps it was just human instinct, to want to help someone trapped, isolated from all they knew.

But then, they heard it. A pinging, a piercing noise, intensity so high that they were both amazed they didn't hear it before. It was definitely Sheba all right, they could tell by the similar pulsing Jupitarian energy that Ivan sent off whenever he cast Psynergy or read one's mind. It was her.

"Stop! Stop the car!" shouted Mia. 

"What? You want me to pull over here? I thought you were going to the Space Needle," said the driver.

"I know, but we changed our minds! Please stop the car!" said Isaac. 

The driver pulled into the next available space on the side of the road and Isaac and Mia quickly got out and thanked the driver. Still looking slightly puzzled, the driver nodded and drove back into the throng of traffic.

Isaac and Mia looked quickly around, trying to concentrate on the signal. They turned on the spot to see which direction it was coming from. They finally stopped, facing the direction to the right of the building that the driver had called the Space Needle. Both agreeing that this was correct, they set off at a run towards the direction of the signal, bumping into several people. 

It took them a good twenty minutes to reach the near-origin of the signal. Looking up at the building, they saw that it was a stadium of sorts, with the words "Safeco Field" written across the entranceway of the stadium, whose exterior was a forest-green. But that's not what distracted them. 

There was a multitude of people coming towards the entrance to the stadium. They were milling around the entrance, and lines backed up at least fifty feet. Horns honked, and a man in the street with something sticking out of his mouth that made a shrill "tweet!" sound whenever he blew on it was waving people and cars by.

Isaac looked at Mia and said, "This is going to be impossible. How are we going to find her in this?"

"It's going to be difficult, that's for sure," agreed Mia. "But from what I'm hearing, she's inside the stadium."

"Where there's probably ten times as many people as out here," said Isaac.

"Hey, I thought Ivan went to Alaska," said Mia jokingly. "Come on Isaac. I'm sure it's not that bad."

She was wrong, however. As they milled closer to the entrance, they saw that the people were handing tickets to the people at the gate. These things were apparently what allowed people to get in.

"See those tickets in the pocket of that man's jeans?" said Isaac.

"Yeah, what about them?" asked Mia.

Isaac took two of the three tickets, checking to make sure one name was for a male and the other female. "I had to do it."

"Isaac! There's got to be a place where we can get our own," said Mia. "That's stealing."

"We don't have the time, otherwise we would get our own," said Isaac. "But she could move somewhere else, or we might not be able to find our way back." Mia still looked skeptical. "Come on, Mia. The perfect opportunity is staring us in the face. We have to take it."

"Well, I suppose you're right," she sighed.

Very slowly, the line worked its way forward until Isaac and Mia were up front. They handed their tickets to the man at the front, who scanned them with a sort of device that could tell the real deal from a phony. After nodding, he handed a portion of the ticket back to them, and motioned for them to enter the stadium, which they did.

Isaac and Mia did their best to maneuver quickly through the mass of people making their way to the stands. Still, it was slow-going, because Isaac was right. There were many more people in here than outside. 

Once they finally finished climbing the stairs, they found themselves staring at a humongous, green field with a diamond on it, and people in white uniforms throwing something to each other. To them, it looked very odd.

"Is this in the scrolls that the Wise One gave us, by any chance?" asked Isaac. Mia rifled through her bag, and found the bundles of rolled-up parchment. She unfolded one of them.

"Only a little," she reported. "It's a sport called baseball. It doesn't go into a lot of detail, only saying that anywhere from 5,000-42,000 people can show up at one game."

Isaac whistled. "That's a lot of people," he said. "There's got to be at least 30,000 people here now. Can you still hear the signal?"

"Oh yes," said Mia. "Well, let's walk around. Maybe we'll be able to see her somewhere else."

They started to walk, eyes open this time in case they saw Sheba anywhere. For a while, the signal grew slightly fainter. In a way this was good, because the pitch of it was so high that they were getting a headache from listening to it for so long. But after walking about halfway around the stadium, it grew back to its original pitch, and then steadily got stronger.

"She's close, I can feel it!" said Isaac, fists clenched. 

"Me too . . . oh my head hurts," groaned Mia. 

"Mine too. Oh, it's getting louder!" 

"There she is! I see her!"

Isaac spun around, looking in the direction of Mia's finger. Then, he saw her too, sitting down in one of the seats, looking around worriedly. Then, she saw them. Her eyes glowed purple. And the last thing that Isaac and Mia saw before the pitch of the signal became so high that they passed out was her running towards them, the purple gaze etched firmly in her figure.

*******

Isaac awoke much later with a headache so violent he felt like someone had been beating it against a wall. He couldn't hear much because of the noise either, noticing this when he barely heard himself cough. Turning his head to one side (which hurt worse than ever when he moved it), he saw Mia slumped against a wall, with Sheba at her side. They appeared to be talking, until Sheba noticed that he was awake.

"Good, you've finally come around," she said, helping him up gently. 

"Ugh . . . where am I?" he said hoarsely.

He took a good look around for the first time, and noticed that they were in a narrow passage between two buildings. Sheba had set fire to some papers and had put them in a coffee can. The buildings were made out of brick, and Isaac could faintly hear the dripping of water from somewhere close by. It was dark and dirty, the ground scummy.

"You're in an alleyway close to the stadium," said Sheba. "I took you both here so we wouldn't be noticed."

"What happened?" asked Isaac.

"Well, when I saw you two, you obviously passed out from the strength of the signal I sent out to you guys," said Sheba. "I meant for it to be that way too."

"Why?" asked Isaac.

Sheba took a moment before responding. "In Lalivero, I took a great deal of time studying into my powers. Apparently, I was a Jupiter Adept, I just didn't want to believe it at the time. And when I was reading on their history, I came across some very interesting things.

"During the Great War between all the clans many years ago, the Jupitarians wanted to come up with new spells, new techniques that were unknown to the enemy, and therefore could not be countered very easily. But some of these spells were for defense and distress as well as offense. One of the spells they came up with was the one I just used.

"The spell is a type of distress call, as Mia thought it was when she awoke. However, no one was to be trusted during the Great War. So the Jupitarians, being the cleverest of all the clans, came up with a backup to the spell."

"What was that?" asked Isaac.

"What happened to you," said Sheba. "In case I was being hunted or tracked on the signal by another Adept of another clan, the spell knocked out the first person or persons who came into eye contact with the distressed Jupitarian. If it was indeed another Adept, he or she could take them as prisoners once another Jupitarian came. The Jupiter Adepts are the only ones capable of taming the signal so it doesn't knock them out. If Ivan had been with you, he would have stayed conscious while you two passed out. It was the Ancient Jupiter Adepts' way of a fail-safe rescue."

It took Isaac a minute or two to register all this information. But it made sense, just in case someone took advantage of her weakness in this place. Better safe than sorry, he reasoned. But he was just happy to have found Sheba safe.

"Well, as soon as I don't have a headache anymore, we can take you back to the safehouse," said Mia. "And we'll wait for the others." 

"Where are they? Where's Felix, Piers, and Jenna?" she asked. 

"Ivan and Lunora have gone to get Felix north of here, in Alaska, and Garet and Solaris went to get Piers in Portland," said Mia, showing Sheba these places on the scrolls. 

"I see," said Sheba. "So what about Jenna? Who's going after her?"

"All of us," said Mia. "When the others return with Felix and Piers, we'll all meet at the safehouse and set out to Reno, Nevada, which is where she is."

"And when we've rescued them all, we're gonna get the Hell out of here, and go back to Weyard," said Isaac. "Where it's safe."

*******

It would be done.

The Wise One floated down one of the many twisting hallways in Sol Sanctum, heading towards the room where many other Adepts from all around Weyard were going to gather. 

There was no other way. It would be his way. Or no way.

He had finally arrived at his destination, and floated through the wall into a cold, stone room with many pillars. Floating to the highest one, he made sure that his presentation was ready, and that all was in order.

It was time.

Instantly, many different Adepts appeared in the room, summoned by the Wise One himself. They came from all clans: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury alike. They all looked around at their surroundings.

The room resembled that of the Elemental Star room somewhat, but this room looked less inviting. The only floor in the room were the pillars that were littered all over the place. The pillars themselves descended into darkness, the thing upon which the pillars were standing far below. The walls were a cold, stony gray, and the room itself was chilly, but more than in temperature. The room had a sense that whatever was told in it would not be good.

They were ready.

"Thank you for coming," said the Wise One. I won't bother you with anything but the bare facts. As you all know, the elemental lighthouses have been lit. All six of them, even the two Chief Elements. This presents a serious problem." The other Adepts nodded in agreement. "You know about the dangers of man, taking over the lighthouses and using them for themselves, no matter who or what gets in the way.

"That means that we have to take them ourselves, take all the surrounding towns next to the lighthouses, and Vale. We'll need to hold the sanctum. No matter who or what gets in our way, we must take Prox. We must take Vale. We must take Lemuria, Contigo, Tundris, Lalivero, and Imil, and destroy the lighthouses. We must prevent the destruction of Weyard!"

"But what you said, 'no matter who or what gets in the way' . . . wouldn't that be like what a madman would do if he or she had Alchemy's power?" piped up a Mercury Adept on a nearby pillar.

"It doesn't matter. If you want to look at it that way, so be it. What I'm saying is that you can either help me in my cause, or be caught in the crossfire when my forces come after your towns, your homes. If you join, I can guarantee protection of your home and family, nothing more, nothing less."

There was a lot of nervous muttering, and more than one skeptical face, but most of all, fear dominated every feature of the Adepts' faces. The Wise one had gone insane. Anything or anyone to destroy the symbols which have dominated Weyard for years? This was insane!

"We'll capture and hold the lighthouses until all of the opposition has been defeated. And then we will destroy the lighthouses, and a new age will arise on Weyard!" said the Wise One. "Call me radical, but me must protect our land!"

"What about the six Adepts who lit the lighthouses?" asked a Mars Adept.

"I have already taken care of them, they will not be coming back for awhile," said The Wise One. "They will find it a real problem getting back here, let me assure you. Now, are you with me?"

The Adepts engaged once again in quiet muttering. They didn't necessarily agree with the Wise One's tactic of protecting the world, but something had to be done . . . and the definitely didn't like the alternative to not joining up. They turned back to the Wise One, and, all two hundred faces nodded.

"Good. I've got all the plans here." A large scroll floated into the air. "It will be kept in here for safekeeping. Now, let's go. Our first course of action is to start from the outside and work our way in. That means, we capture Tundris first." All the Adepts nodded.

"Let's go."

It had begun. 

************************

I'm still saying nothing.

Be warned that updates, due to extreme difficulties with putting the Adepts into modern Earth believable, will probably be sparse until the second half of the story comes along. But keep your eye out for this! I'm by no means quitting!

Now review! My geckos have been practicing on ignorant dummies who like to annoy me (which isn't any of you), so they haven't lost the knack. Do what's right, and what's good for you.

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!

~SirGecko~ 


	4. Rescue Felix, Part I

Heidy ho. It's me, SirGecko, back to annoy all who wish for me to annoy them. Actually, I'm just bearing chapter 4. And I did keep my promise, didn't I? I said that updates would be sparse. Hey. So what if it's not a good promise? I still kept it.

God dammit! FanFiction.net didn't upload the corrections to chapter two that NintendoGamer requested. I will try again, but I can't control the spasms of FF.net. So be patient.

So now, the review responses. Twelve of them! Wow.

RalKirGard: Well, you're a new face around here. Welcome! Anyway, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Alex is not in this story. However, if it makes you feel any better, Mia, as always, plays a primary role in this story. Hope that was of some comfort. Stick around!

khmerboi919: Thank you very much. And as for the last part of the story, you'll just have to find out yourself. ^_^. And Sheba . . . I haven't really decided on her yet. She might start leaning towards Felix . . . 

NintendoGamer: You're right about that. I did like the power I gave her though too. She was probably bored enough in Lalivero to research it that thoroughly. Sort of my small-town knowledge, seeing as I live in one . . . ^_^. And ten Adepts? Who were the other four? 

QueenDragonGoddess: Thank you much. And yes. I need to keep you readers updated on what's going on in Weyard. Things are gonna get real ugly, real fast. 

Great Saiyaman: Yes, thank you. Well, it's about damn time someone put a twist to a main character like the Wise One. Keep an eye out for stuff in this chapter. I put a little scene in here you might like.

moon man: that's okay. I'm insane too. 

Ssonic: Well . . . whether they'll even get back is the question. Oops . . . I never said that.

0==l=R=a=g=n=a=r=o=k=: Welcome back, old friend! I was wondering where you had gone. Did you finisk reading my first story? . . . Anyway, I'm glad you like the change. And you know, I came up with that Jupiter technique, and everything about it, on the spot. Kinda shows, doesn't it? And you don't live in America? Where do you live?

Anime-Master7: Thank you. It is getting interesting, and it will get more interesting. 

TankMasterG: I know, I know. Sorry. But what do you think of the story?

Black Demon567: I have my good reson, and there's romance in this chapter. Thanks for your support!

blackdragon: Yes, the wise One is up to something. And I have an evil mind? Why thank you!

Okay, that seems to be all. Time for chapter 4!

Chapter 4: Rescue Felix, Part I

This was going to be one long trip. 

Ivan and Lunora's taxi had just left Washington, and the taxi had smoothly gotten through the border patrol into Canada (at which point Ivan took out the map scroll to check this new area, and marveling at its size). The taxi driver estimated that nonstop, it would take them about two or three days to get to Fairbanks. 

"That's quite a long drive for you two," the driver warned. "Are you sure you still want to go?"

"We have to," said Lunora.

"And why is that?" asked the taxi driver curiously. "Why not just fly?"

"Fly?" repeated Lunora under her breath, obviously confused.

"Because there were no planes available that would get us there in time. We have to get there as soon as possible," said Ivan.

"But why, though?" asked the driver.

Slightly irritated at the driver's non-relenting questions, Ivan responded calmly, "There's a friend we have to meet there. And as soon as possible, like I said."

"I see," said the driver.

They rode in silence for another hour until the taxi driver turned on the radio. Ivan knew about these; he had studied his scrolls thoroughly. But they never did talk about flying much, only about what it was in general. No procedures at all. But Lunora had pointed out to him that Reno, Nevada, which is where Jenna is, is also a long ways away from Seattle. Though not as far away as Fairbanks, Ivan could already tell that he would not be able to spend six straight days in a car again. 

"It's about dinner time," said the driver. "and we should be coming up on a town here soon. We should probably stop for something to eat and some snacks, because we won't have the time or opportunity to stop until tomorrow afternoon. We can stop at the Quickie Mart up here. You guys can get something while I fuel up the car."

Apart from the fueling up the car and the Quickie Mart, Ivan and Lunora understood what the driver was saying. Ivan suddenly realized just how hungry he was, and he looked over to Lunora. She smiled at him, but looked like she was ready to eat too.

Dusk was upon them now, and the stars were beginning to come out on the opposite side of the blazing-red sky in front of them. It was difficult to see in front of you without being blinded, but the driver simply pulled down a visor from the ceiling so shield his eyes from the sun. 

A few minutes later, the driver pulled into a small building with an overhang, with odd-looking pumps spaced every few feet. Both Ivan and Lunora assumed that these were the fuel pumps, and the small building was the Quickie mart. They got out of the taxi when the driver pulled into one of the pumps, and went inside the building.

It felt even smaller on the inside. There was a tiny little counter with a tiny old man running things behind it. Shelves were stocked with the oddest food and drink both Ivan and Lunora had ever seen. They walked over to the large door-coolers in the back and chose a fizzy drink called Pepsi that they had read about in the scrolls. 

Turning around, they walked the rows of shelves, trying to look for any foods recommended by the Wise One in the scrolls. They spotted the chip rack, and grabbed a few bags labeled Doritos. They turned to the candy rack and selected a few packs of gum. This sounded interesting, because it was something that you chewed on continuously, and it wasn't meant to be swallowed. Finished shopping, they walked to the counter and handed the money to the old man.

"American money, is it?" he squeaked, punching a few buttons on the apparatus in front of them which appeared to be tallying their sales. "We like to see that around here." He opened a drawer and took out some changed that looked completely different from the bills they held. "Here's your change: $5.61. You folks have a good night."

"Thanks, you too!" called Lunora as she and Ivan walked briskly out the door. 

The air now was chilly as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Trees surrounded them on every side, and a wind was brewing that made things all the more colder. Especially for Lunora, the frigid air blowing against her legs as she walked to the taxi. Although, she noticed, if you looked at it from a different perspective, it was quite beautiful here.

The driver was waiting for them in the car when Ivan and Lunora got in the car. "Save those snacks for another day," he warned. "These are the outskirts of town. We should be hitting a fast-food restaurant here in a few minutes. Do either of you have a preference?"

Ivan had read about these "fast-food joints" in the scrolls, but the Wise One failed to mention that there was more than one type of place. 

"Your choice, it doesn't really matter," he said, in an effort to not give away the fact that they hardly had a clue on what the driver was talking about. 

"Alrighty then. You like Mexican?"

"Yes," said Lunora, keeping her voice quiet to hide her scepticism.

"Good. To Taco Bell we go!" said the driver, pulling into a place with the aforementioned sign on the front. "We'll just use the drive-thru for convenience. It's faster."

Ivan and Lunora nodded, relieved to finally understand some of what the driver was talking about. They pulled into the drive-thru and the driver ordered a large steak burrito. And then he turned to them.

"What do you want?" he asked. 

"Uh . . . we'll have that," said Lunora, pointing to a picture of a chicken and rice bowl. The driver ordered their meal for them, and they pulled forward to a window in the side of the building.

"Hey Lunora, wasn't that weird, how that voice just came through the box?" Ivan commented.

"Well, the Wise One did say that this was an advanced civilization," Lunora whispered back.

"What's that?" asked the driver.

"Nothing," Lunora responded quickly. "Hey, we never caught your name, by the way."

"Oh! It's Phil. Just Phil."

"Well then Phil, here's the money for our dinner," said Ivan, handing Phil a few bills.

"No, no, dinner's on me tonight," said Phil. 

Ivan and Lunora thanked him, and in a few minutes, received their food after paying and waiting a bit more. Phil separated it out, handed the bowls to Ivan and Lunora, and then dug into his burrito. Ivan and Lunora were soon to follow. 

It tasted pretty good for being prepared so quickly, though they both had eaten better on Weyard. They all ate in silence; Phil had once again turned on the radio, and was listening to the news.

"Our top story this hour is once again in Iraq, where more killings of both US soldiers and Iraqi civilians have been reported. A grenade flew at a truck along the road that was hauling food products, and exploded on impact. Our feelings go out to the family members of those injured or killed.

"And in other news-" Phil turned off the radio. "I don't like the news, myself," he said, popping in a CD (which Ivan and Lunora also recognized). "It's too depressing for me. Every day someone else gets killed . . ."

"Wow, it must be bad here," said Lunora. "Where is this Iraq?"

"A long ways away from here, in Asia," Phil replied. "Violent country, it is."

The sky had turned completely dark now, and for a few minutes, all did nothing but watch the road in front of them. Every few seconds, a pair of headlights would streak past them on the opposite side of the road. It was surprisingly relaxing with the music playing in the stereo, a kind that neither Ivan or Lunora had heard before. But they liked it a lot. This world seemed to have good taste in music.

"Do you think we'll get to Felix in time to find him?" asked Ivan.

"I don't know," said Lunora. "I'm hoping so. I'm just hoping he hasn't panicked and run off somewhere else that's hard to find."

"Oh I doubt that," said Ivan. "In the little time I've seen him, he seems to be very calm and collected. I think he's thought it out and waited for rescue, hopefully knowing that the Wise One would send someone after him."

"What if he's not where the Wise One thinks he is?" said Ivan.

"Oh Ivan, you're quite the worrier," said Lunora, looking at him and smiling. "I'm sure he's in Fairbanks. And if he's not, then we're in trouble."

"Oh that's reassuring," said Ivan, rolling his eyes and staring out the window. 

Lunora turned his face to meet hers. "Who taught you to be so cynical?" she said sweetly.

"Uh . . . me," he said. It came out as a question. "Failing to light six lighthouses will do that to you, and once all is right in the end, it kinda stays with you. Why?"

"Because I love that about you," she said.

Ivan sighed with relief, but was cut off when Lunora put her arms around him and kissed him on the lips so that he could not finish sighing. Not that he minded though, returning the kiss. Though she had just eaten, her scent was sweet as she continued to kiss Ivan. Ivan leaned back slightly, Lunora's weight forcing him down, until his head was resting against the door. Lunora came down with him, her legs crossed.

Above the volume of the music, Phil could see and hear what was going on in the backseat, courtesy of his rearview mirror. Not wanting to disturb them, he eased the volume on his music up and tilted the rearview mirror so that he could not see them. His fingers drumming on the steering wheel in tune to the music, he drove right past the motel he intended to stop at. He didn't want to disturb either of them, and he could wait for the next town. He was smiling.

*******

The hotel they stayed in was a small, cheap one that barely got them through the night called Motel 6. Phil, Lunora, and Ivan all slept badly, but that was to be expected. They all knew that the 6 in Motel 6 was to symbolize the amount of sleep they would get in a room with walls made of cardboard.

But even worse than the lack of sleep was the wait for morning, even though they had driven north for half of the night. They had heard Phil mention that now that they were moving north, nights were longer and days were shorter. This made sense with the fact that Earth was round, and Weyard was flat. This didn't happen in the Adepts' world.

When morning finally did arrive, they all looked like zombies when they got back into the taxi. Despite this, Phil was alert and awake enough to keep driving north. Since they had gone further than Phil had expected, he said that they would reach Fairbanks, Alaska by the middle of the day.

"Aren't you tired, Phil? We had a long night," said Lunora.

"Well, when you've been a graveyard taxi driver for so long, you kinda get used to sleep deprivation," said Phil. "I'll make it to Fairbanks with no problem. You guys can sleep if you want. You'll probably sleep better in this 'ol car anyway," he added with a slight chuckle. 

This was no problem with Ivan and Lunora. Ivan fell asleep soon afterward, Phil's radio humming melodiously in his ears, easing him to sleep. Lunora was not far behind. She let Ivan lean against her shoulder to sleep. Lunora did the same to Ivan. 

They slept peacefully.

Hours later, Phil called them awake with a simple sentence.

"Welcome to Fairbanks, Alaska."

*******

Surprise was with them.

The Wise One knew precisely where and how to strike. He knew that Shaman Village was not very hospitable towards outsiders, and therefore outsiders rarely ventured there. Not just because they were unwelcome, but because the only way into the village was through a cave.

And also, the residents of Shaman Village respected power and wisdom, and the Wise One definitely had both. Well . . . to them anyway. These factors would easily convince Shaman Village to the Wise One's side of the story.

Already he had Adepts traveling there bearing his orders to establish good relations with the people of Shaman Village. Aside from Vale and the cities he planned to take and hold, he needed a secret place to have top Adepts run things. Not the Wise One Himself . . . no. His place was in Mt. Aleph, barricaded in the Elemental Star Room.

He also was sending recruiters to other towns on Angara and Gondowan. He needed more Adepts to join his cause. Already he had selected the four most powerful, loyal Adepts to reside in Shaman Village where, if all went well, the Wise One and his followers would build a fortress for them to reside and supervise in.

The Fortress of Dawn and Dusk.

He had sent the plans with these four Adepts, whose names were: Butch, the Venus Adept, Cassidy, the Mars Adept, Coursair, the Jupiter Adept, and Cassandra, the Mercury Adept. All were powerful, cunning, quick, and very mean. But worst of all, they were totally loyal to the Wise One. 

"Good day to you."

The Wise One met the person he wanted to see. This Adept was short, almost shorter than Ivan. He was clad all in black, and stood rigidly, defiantly. You could not see his face, for a broad, black, brimmed hat shrouded it in darkness. He wore black gloves, and black, shiny footwear.

Authority and power radiated from this Adept, whose type was known only to himself and the Wise One. And for the task ahead, it needed to be kept that way. He had been told much, much more about Earth than was told to Isaac, Garet, Ivan, Mia, Solaris, or Lunora. 

"Wise One. You are ready to give me my task. I wish you would hurry up, my patience is wearing thin."

"Of course, of course. I have already told you of my plans for Weyard, have I not?"

"Yes. And if any of the Adepts who lit the lighthouse come back here, your plans are in grave danger. They have many friends that they met along the way. And if their forces become large, they could easily overpower you."

"Most of those friends and allies are from town that I will take with my own forces," responded the Wise One harshly. Watch your tongue."

"My apologies. What do you want me to do?"

The Wise One took a moment before responding. "You had a point. If Isaac or any of his friends return, great risk is put to the Greater Plan. That's your job."

"What?"

"To ensure that they don't return."

"How am I going to do that? You split them all up."

"Let me finish," the Wise One said irritably. "They are easily grief-stricken. They have all become so close that if any of them were lost . . . well, they would be at a serious disadvantage, and would not think straight."

"So you want me to bump some of them off," said the black-clad man. He had a deep voice, so cold it froze your heart in place. 

"Only the two that I tell you to," said the Wise One. "I paired two of them up for a reason. The ones that if they died, it would affect all of the group even more so than if my pickings were random."

"I see. Who then?"

"Garet and Solaris."

A heavy silence hung in the air before them. The Wise One knew what he was doing; he hoped that the Adept wouldn't mess it up. But he knew that he'd have to explain why he chose Garet and Solaris, and not Isaac. And sure enough.

"Why them?"

"Because Solaris's death will devastate Lunora. Because Ivan has become close to Lunora, he will be sad as well, even more so than if Lunora were just a friend. The same goes for Garet. Isaac's known him since birth, and Mia loves Isaac dearly."

"I like it," cackled the black man. 

"One rule of war is to take advantage of anything, no matter how small," said the Wise One. "In this case, their bonds and relationships being severed like this will tear them apart. Garet and Solaris are headed to Portland. By the time you get there, they probably will have the Lemurian, Piers. See that he is killed too, but only if he is with them. We don't want him finding anything out."

"As you command. So, I will do this-" 

"-While my forces get into position here. By the time you return, Mordoc, We will be ready to move against our first target."

"Which one is that?" asked Mordoc, slightly breathless.

"Tundris." 

*********************

Well . . . the Wise One's got several schemes going at once now. Things are about to get really ugly on Weyard, and for Garet and Solaris. If you want to find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next update! And if you don't two geckos will appear at your front door with a letter bomb.

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!

~SirGecko~ 


	5. Rescue Piers, Part I

back from the dead

I'm back. Holy shit, I'm back. After just over two months of dormancy on this fic, I was finally able to punch out a nine-page chapter. You see, the first and second pages took me two months to write, and I spent the other three days writing the other seven. Hopefully, my lull hasn't affected the quality of my writing that much. But I'll leave that decision up to you.

And now for the review responses. Thank you for reviewing. I hope you recommend.

Great Saiyaman: You are quite welcome. And thank you about the names, I try to think of names that are unique, not that common. It wouldn't be too great if I named them Fred, Ted, Ned, and Jed. Not very convincing.

BlackDemon567: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. enjoy this one!

khmerboi919: You'll find out what his element is. And I don't know if the missing characters get a POV, but they definitely get some dialogue.

Anime-Master7: I can. I hope you like this chapter.

NintendoGamer: I thought that's what you meant, I just wasn't sure. Thanks for clearing that up. And the news is very depressing. But I still watch and listen to it anyway. Enjoy this chapter!

Ssonic: Now let's not start that again. And the bill will be high, trust me.

RalKirGard: I've seen you around from time to time. Thanks for checking this out. Here's another chapter for you.

0==l=R=a=g=n=a=r=o=k=: The Phillipines . . . mm. And this was a very . . . um, spiritual review. Thank you for telling me I'm good at what I do. An evil guy in a tuxedo? Maybe in a parody, but not here, I can assure you . . . Enjoy this chapter.

Lord isacc: Hey moon man. I'm glad you like my stuff. And I have a few cats myself, and my geckos have learned to get along with cats. So don't worry. They'll stay away.

Dragoon knight: Hey you're back! Great! Well, read on and find out. I hope you like it.

dragons tear: Well, I've never rendered anybody speechless with writing before . . . maybe I'm better than I think I am. Anyways, I'm glad you like my work, and the pairings. Enjoy this chapter!

Well, that was quite a few reviews. Anyway, onto chapter 5!

******Chapter 5: Rescue Piers, Part I**

Boring.

That was the one word that could describe, in full, what the ride down the interstate from Seattle was. Both Solaris and Garet had tried to sleep on the way down, but to no avail. They were not used to the sound of cars roaring by on the lanes opposite, or the bumps as they went over bridges, or the blare of the driver's rap music. No, they were used to the subtle, yet soothing sounds of crickets chirping, or of the wind rustling through trees in the fall.

All this was alien to them, and Garet didn't like it one bit. It was not his way. He was a simple man. A bit dim, but always appreciating the uniqueness of nature. On Weyard, this was evident. Nature was all around. Nature talked to him.

But not here. Nature was ignored, stomped down, tossed aside for these new technologies. The road system, the cars, the noise . . . in Garet's opinion, they distracted from the uniqueness nature and the environment had to offer.

"We'll be in Portland soon," said the driver. "Any place in particular that you wanted to go?"

"We need to think about it for a minute," said Solaris immediately. Garet looked at him.

"What for?" he asked.

"Well, we need to find some way of narrowing down where Piers might have ended up in Portland. It's the largest city in this Oregon, and it's going to be difficult as it is."

"Then what should we do?" asked Garet, thinking hard.

"Well, we should probably ask the driver for some popular destinations in Portland," said Solaris slowly. "That might help."

Garet turned to the driver. "Hey, where's a popular place in Portland?"

"Don't ask me," said the driver rudely. "I normally drive in Seattle. I hardly ever come out this way."

Garet looked at Solaris, torn between disdain for the way the driver was acting and worriment at the fact that the driver was, basically, just as clueless as they were about Portland. Solaris had his head in his hands. Garet couldn't tell whether he was exasperated or just thinking even more deeply than before.

"Well then, drop us off once we get inside the city limits," said Solaris. "We'll be able to go from there."

"Fine," said the driver shortly, and he sped up, cranking up that horrid music blaring from the radio.

Garet and Solaris stared out the window, watching tall building after tall building go by. It was much prettier than what they saw of Seattle, actually. Trees were scattered here and there, and bushes grew along the sides of the roads. It was still fast-paced and somewhat polluted, but not nearly as bad as Seattle was.

All of a sudden, the traffic started to slow down. Traffic jam, the driver said, swearing under his breath. At one point, the car wasn't moving at all. Both Solaris and Garet were looking out the window, wringing their hands slightly with anxiety. The longer this traffic jam lasted, the harder it would be to locate Piers.

Eventually though, the traffic thinned as they headed on, though the time dragged on for the taxi's two passengers. They passed billboard after billboard advertising everything from lotion to motels to wallets. The dots between the digital clock on the front panel of the taxi seemed to blink more slowly than they did on the way down.

Then Garet was struck with an idea. "Hey. Piers seemed to like books a lot."

"Yes, he did," said Solaris slowly.

"But what if that was just a coincidence?" asked Garet.

"Well, we have nothing else to go on," said Solaris. "Hey. Is there anyplace in Portland with books?"

"How should I know?" snorted the driver. "I'm a Seattle cab."

"I've had enough of this," muttered Solaris. "This guy's an asshole."

"Let us off at the next stop," said Garet, after silently agreeing.

"Right," said the driver. "We're coming up on it now."

The cab pulled up on a curb, and stopped. The driver demanded his money, and Garet gave it do him just before the driver turned around and sped off. Garet and Solaris began to walk down the sidewalk, soon after the driver left. They watched the other passerby warily, trying to catch any word of where they might be.

"This is pointless," said Garet.

"We should get another taxi," said Solaris thoughtfully. "If it's local, I'm sure the driver knows where a bookstore is."

"Well . . . okay," said Garet after awhile. "But if he's like that last driver, I'm gonna give him and his car a taste of my Pyroclasm."

"No. Remember what the Wise One said about Psynergy in this world," Solaris warned. "We can't do anything about it except mention it to him."

"Here comes one now," said Garet, flagging down a passing taxi.

The taxi stopped and Garet and Solaris climbed in. The driver of this cab was a woman, which surprised them slightly. They figured it'd be another man.

"Are there any good bookstores here?" asked Solaris politely.

"Oh of course!" she said just as politely. "Powell's books just up the road from here. It's one of the largest bookstores in the country."

"Great," said Solaris. "Please take us there."

"Okay then!" she said, and they drove off.

They were in the car for no less than five minutes, at which time the driver shared some information with them on the city. Garet and Solaris listened to her talk about the different sports teams, that Portland was the largest city in the state, and that it was a popular spot for tourists.

By the time she had finished explaining the city to the, they were at the place where they needed to be. The bookstore was huge, they could tell already. Thanking and paying the driver, they walked into the bookstore.

Looking around, they noticed a shelf which was full of maps of the bookstore. Garet walked forward and took one. He opened it and saw that the bookstore was indeed as big as the taxi driver had described it. It covered a whole city block and was four stories tall. This was going to make things a bit difficult, assuming they were in the right place to begin with.

"Okay," said Solaris, looking around and sighing. "I say we meet back here in fifteen minutes. We'll search the first floor first, and then go up to do the second, and so on."

"Right," said Garet.

They split off and searched the whole of the first floor, but there was no sign of Piers. So they took the stairs to the second floor. He wasn't there either. Then, they made their way up to the third floor, where they noticed a place in the store that looked promising.

"The rare books room," said Garet and Solaris together.

"If he's not there, than I don't know where he could be," said Solaris. "Let's check it out."

They walked over to the rare book section and opened the door. They scanned the aisles one by one. So far, there was no sign of Piers, however they did see some books totaling over $2000. Then, they made it to the second-to-last row . . .

"Solaris? Is that you?"

Piers came walking quickly out from behind a bookshelf. He looked terrible, but her had one of the books clutched in his hand. His hair was disheveled, and he looked very tired.

"Well well Piers, long time no see," said Garet sarcastically. "But, it's good to see you man. We've come to get you."

"Thank the Gods," said Piers. "I felt like I was in a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. They have interesting literature here though. But to be honest . . . I was scared stiff."

"Maybe if you knew what was going on . . ." said Solaris, stepping closer to Piers. He and Garet explained what had happened so far.

"Okay, let me get this straight," said Piers, holding out a hand. "Isaac, Ivan, Mia and Lunora are here too, but miles and miles away looking for the others? And we're on a different planet, a different world?"

"Yes, that's right," said Solaris. "I still have a little trouble believing it when I think about it."

"Now let's get the Hell out of here," said Garet. "We have to get back to Seattle."

"Let's spend the night here, and we can find a way back to Seattle in the morning," said Solaris.

"Where are we going to find an inn?" asked Piers, looking out the window.

"I believe the Wise One told us they call them motels here . . . but I saw one on the way here. We'll hail a taxi and go there now. We can get back to Seattle tomorrow."

-------

There was no problem.

Their taxi pulled up to the Double Tree Hotel well past dark. It was raining hard outside, a common occurrence in Portland, so they were told. They got out, paid their driver, and walked towards the entrance. They passed a few people, some smoking a cigarette, and entered the hotel.

At first glance, they could easily tell that this was definitely a classy hotel. To the right, there were comfortable chairs and couches surrounding a fireplace, a small fire dancing merrily. Straight ahead, there was also four sets of weird doors in which people went into and different people came out. The doors were silver and there were two buttons next to each door.

And to the left, they spotted the receptionist's desk and made their way over to speak to her. She was talking on a telephone, one thing that the scrolls the Wise One had given them went into great length describing. She was done in a moment though, and she looked up at them, smiling.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, we'd all like a room for one night," said Solaris, stepping forward.

"Okay. Would you like a view of the Columbia River or the Jantzen Beach shopping center?" she asked.

They looked at each other and silently agreed on the Columbia River. "We'll take the Columbia," said Piers.

"Great, and will you want a regular room or a suite?" she asked, as she typed furiously on a keyboard in front of her.

"We have enough money," muttered Garet into Solaris's ear.

"We'll take a suite then," said Solaris.

"Great. For three of you, one night, it will total to $248.61. Cash, check or credit?"

"Cash," said Garet, handing her three hundreds. She tallied it up and handed them their change.

"$41.39 is your change, your floor number is 6, and your room number is 639," she said cheerily, handing them a card key. "You can get to your room by using the elevators over there, or the stairs to the left. Enjoy your stay with us!"

"Thanks much," said Garet.

"So that's what those things are," Piers muttered, motioning toward the elevators.

Above the doors, there was a set of numbers in a horizontal row, numbered 1-13. The light currently lit up was thee, but then two was lit up and three went off, and then one. A split-second later, the doors opened and a few people came hurrying out of the elevator. As Piers was still in dress style from Weyard, a couple of the passerby glanced at him curiously.

Once the elevator was clear, Garet, Solaris, and Piers stepped into the elevator. Piers, who thought he knew how these things worked by now, pressed the button labeled six. The elevator doors closed as soon as he pressed it, and the elevator then started to rise.

The same set of numbers as above the elevator doors on the outside were also above the elevators doors themselves. They watched the numbers light up successively, but then, the elevator stopped when the number four glowed.

"What the Hell!" shouted Garet, punching the number six button a few more times.

"I think it's just letting more people on, Garet," said Piers calmly, putting his hand over the button so that Garet missed and jabbed Piers's hand instead.

He was right. The doors opened and a few people filed onto the elevator, some toting suitcases behind them. They pressed the number one button, and the doors closed again. However, the elevator continued up to floor number six, where the doors opened and Garet, Solaris and Piers exited and read the sign that faced them.

"Rooms 600 to 620 are to the left," said Garet. "Which means ours is to the right."

They walked down the hall to the right, all the way to the end where room 639 was, on the left. Piers inserted the card key into the slot, and the lock clicked. They opened the door, and stepped into one of the nicest rooms they had ever been in.

All of the counters were made of polished marble. A refrigerator was set against the far right corner, which Garet went immediately over to look at. To the right of the refrigerator, chairs sat in a circle surrounding a small table over by the window which revealed the Columbia River. A sliding glass door set in the far left corner led out onto a porch, where there was more chairs and a table with an umbrella over it.

The next room was the bedroom, where there was a large, regular bed and a bunk bed. A TV was set in front of the two beds, another item which the scrolls went into great length explaining. A nightstand rested between the two beds, with a lamp and telephone resting on to. On each of the pillows lay a mint with the Double Tree logo on it.

"Ah, I get it now," said Garet, chuckling sardonically. "We pay 250 bucks for a room and they give us a couple of free mints in return? What a bunch of cheap-asses . . ."

"Well it's better than sleeping in a car," said Solaris evenly. "Now, we have to figure out how we're gonna get back to Seattle."

"Let me see those scrolls," said Piers, jumping onto the large bed. "I need something to read and I might as well find out a little bit more about this place."

Solaris dug the scrolls out from his pocket and handed them to Piers, who took them and unrolled them. While Piers engaged in his thoughtful reading, Solaris picked up the telephone. Looking at a list of phone numbers, he found the one for the front desk. He punched in the number, and listened for the ringing tone. In a second, the receptionist picked up.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, do you know of any means that we could use to get to Seattle?" Solaris asked, wording the question carefully.

"Well, there's a greyhound bus that comes by tomorrow at eleven," she said slowly, and Solaris could hear her shuffling papers in the background. "It's running up to Fairbanks, but it stops in Seattle. So, I think if you call their office and get the paperwork figured out, you could go on that one. Would you like the number?"

"Yes please," said Solaris. "Garet, find me a pen," he said with his hand over the mouthpiece. When Garet returned with a pen, he said to the receptionist, "Right. I'm ready."

"Okay, it's 541-333-5634. Anything else?"

"No, that will be all. Thank you," said Solaris, hanging up the phone.

"Did you get something?" Piers inquired, not looking up from his reading.

"Yeah, I just have to call Greyhound Bus Lines and get a few things straightened out," said Solaris. "I'll do that now."

He thought for a moment about why everything needed paperwork. He noticed that after Isaac had had to fill out all those forms at the bank when they exchanged their gold coins for cash. But as long as he was able to get them on that bus, everything would work out.

Sighing resolutely, he dialed the number. "Yes, my name is Solaris and I wanted to take the Greyhound Bus that comes through Portland and goes to Fairbanks, but Stops in Seattle . . . right . . . two others . . . Solaris, Garet, and Piers . . . last name?" He covered the mouthpiece with his hand again. "Shit. What's a last name?"

"How the Hell should I know?" asked Garet. "I only have one name. If people want to know who we are, we just name our family after the head of the house."

"I've been called Piers all my life," said Piers, brow furrowed as he was studying something on the scrolls.

"Yes, we go by our last names," said Solaris, returning to the conversation with the person at the other end of the line. "Yeah, Solaris, Garet, and Piers . . . okay. How much . . . $58.22 . . . right. We need tp be picked up at the Double Tree just along the Columbia River . . . that works . . . yes, that's fine . . . alright. . . . .Yes, we'll be on the bus, and dropped off where in Seattle? . . . The Space Needle? . . . great. Thank you very much." He hung up the phone.

"We've got to be at the front door at a quarter to eleven o'clock," said Solaris to Garet and Piers. "Otherwise, we're outta here!"

"Alright!" shouted Garet, punching his fist into the air. "Now, let's check out this TV thingy that's so popular here."

-------

They hated that bus ride.

It was loud, long and very uncomfortable, due to the fact that the bus held about twenty other people, three of which were constantly screaming toddlers in the back that almost drove Garet bonkers. Solaris was fed up too, but Piers was merely impatient with them. He was a very easygoing man, and rarely got really angry for anything.

"Shut . . . up . . . shut . . . up . . ." mumbled Garet, hands clasped over his ears.

"We're almost to Seattle, so don't go crazy on me yet," said Solaris. At this moment, one of the toddlers gave a particularly loud piercing scream.

"MmmmmmmSHADDUP!" shouted a passenger behind them who was trying to sleep. A few people started to applaud.

The rest of the trip, now that they were a little bit closer to Seattle, went by a little bit faster for the three, despite the toddlers, the laughter and chatter, and the bouncing and jouncing of the bus. Soon enough, they were approaching Seattle's city limits.

"Finally!" muttered Garet. "We should be there in about ten minutes."

The bus rolled into the exit lane and up a ramp. After turning, stopping, and moving for at least twenty minutes, which left Garet most unhappy, they finally reached the street that would take them to the Space Needle.

"Next stop, Seattle Space Needle," the driver announced over the bus loudspeaker. A minute later, the bus pulled into the stop, and Piers, Garet, and Solaris stepped off.

The bus doors closed behind them, and then rumbled off down the street. Garet, Piers and Solaris then looked around. They knew that the Space Needle was the landmark in Seattle, a nice sight to see. But they didn't care. They just wanted to get back to the Safehouse.

"Taxi!" Piers shouted, remembering about this process from the Scrolls.

A taxi pulled up soon afterward. Garet and Solaris thought he was making a mistake, due to their encounter with the last cab driver. But they didn't say anything. The cab pulled up and Garet, Solaris, and Piers climbed into it. The driver was man with a New York Accent, though they didn't know that.

"Where to, boys?" he asked.

"Um, it's not exactly a fixed place, but . . . do you remember seeing a golden statue of an eagle around anywhere?"

"Oh yeah, that one," said the driver, nodding. "Right. I'll take you there. I know right where it is."

They were quite happy that this driver was polite, plus the fact that he knew exactly where he was going. He must have been a veteran, because he knew how to expertly dodge the traffic and take the best shortcuts. Within ten minutes they saw the statue.

"Let us off here, at this parking lot please," said Piers.

"Right," the driver responded, pulling up next to the parking lot.

"Thank you very much," said Solaris, paying the driver his money. The driver nodded and sped off.

"Why did you have us dropped off here, Piers?" asked Garet.

"Well, I figured it'd look pretty awkward to passerby if we got dropped off at that statue, because all that's in front of it are old buildings," said Piers. "I assume that's where the Safehouse is, right?"

"Right," Solaris nodded. "Let's go."

They walked across the street and right to the Safehouse. They expected to see Isaac and Mia there, but were surprised when there was no sign of them.

"It's been over a day!" said Garet. "They couldn't have been **that** unsuccessful, could they?"

"I don't know, Garet," Solaris replied, shaking his head. "I just don't know. Let's just get in and wait for them."

They walked up to the door, and Piers reached out his hand to open it. But they were shocked when it opened for them and they saw a man they had never seen before. A man dressed all in black with a wide, brimmed hat. He was holding a black sword, and he had a very nasty smirk on his face.

"Well," he said. "So nice of you three to join me."

-------

It was done.

The fortress was finished in record time, due to the unrelenting efforts of the people of Shaman Village, who now realized that joining the ranks of the Wise One was a big, big mistake. Butch, Cassidy, Coursair, and Cassandra were ruthless, making sure that nobody slacked off while they worked, torturing them with their overflowing Psynergy if they did something wrong.

But that was the past. Don't dwell on the past.

Coursair, the infamous Jupiter Adept, was dressed in a combination of decorative gray and purple garments, but he had a layer of mythril under all his clothing to protect him. He had had that mythril since he could remember, and it had helped defend him against many a beast. He also had a scarf around his neck that jutted out a odd angles on either side of him, only the scarf was gray. His hair was straight and gray as well, similar to Ivan's but lying flat on his head. His weapons: two Katanas. They, along with his Psynergy, were the most feared attributes of Coursair. His gloves were black though, and his boots were brown.

Cassidy, the Mars Adept, had some of the thickest hair anyone had ever seen. She wore it bushy, and pointed each tip of her fiery red hair into tips shaped like a bullet. She liked the simple, inexpensive armor; she wore platemail under a tight orange jumpsuit that covered her silver boots. She had always used broad swords, her favorite being the flaming Claymore she had sheathed to her side.

Butch, the Venus Adept, wore a golden shirt over his half-platemail. His pants were brown and simple. He was a simple, yet merciless man who sought control and glory. His gloves were brown, and his golden hair was stuck upward, resembling a feather headdress worn by an Indian leader. The strongest of the four, he was able to wield not one, but two large, Venus axes.

Cassandra was the Mercury Adept, and she fully defied the "rule" that the Mercury clan was the gentlest. She was the craziest of the four, behind their leader Coursair all the way to the death. Her hair was long everywhere. It fell all the way past her back, and her bangs fell past her chin. How she managed to see through it was a mystery to the other three, though she could do so quite well. Her metal boots were tinted blue, and she was the only one who also wore full-plate gloves. Her clothing was blue and white, the clothing's colors criscrossing in no peticular pattern.

Currently, the four were sitting in the center of the fortress, going over a report sent to them by the Wise One himself, who had gone down to Tundris personally to oversee the first takeover. Coursair held the letter and was reading it to the other three.

_"It's my pleasure to inform you that the takeover was successful. None of our people were killed, though some sustained serious injury. Those who resisted are now being held by my forces in a secluded location and are being treated well; word of its whereabouts will be sent to you shortly._

_Currently my forces are sealing off the Luna Lighthouse. Your job is to decide what to do with it. No decision can be carried out until all the other lighthouses and their outlying towns have been captured by our forces, however. But that buys you a lot of time. _

_Choose wisely and in my favor. You will receive another letter when we start to move against the next town, which will be Contigo. Good day to you all."_

"Well then, any suggestions?" asked Coursair, leaning back in his chair with his hands clasped together.

"We obviously have to take it down. It's the Wise One's eventual plan, isn't it?" Butch recalled.

"Very true," said Cassidy. "But, how do we want to take it down?"

"The people of Tundris obviously look at the lighthouse as an important, sacred symbol. We could make them take it down themselves," said Coursair.

"And those that won't will be beaten and forced to watch!" Cassandra volunteered, slamming her fist down on the table. Her metal glove put a dent in it.

"Very good people," said Coursair. "Butch, you write the letter explaining our plan of action to the Wise One. I have to go talk to that morbid fool who runs Shaman Village."

"Okay Coursair," said Butch, grabbing a piece of paper and quill.

-------

_"'Those who resisted are now being held by my forces in a secluded and are being treated well . . .'"_

Grunts and cries were heard and blood was spilled that night as each individual prisoner was tortured.

-----------------------

Um . . . . please review. Have a good day.

SirGecko


	6. Rescue Felix, Part II

Well hello! We're moving, I'm stressed out, Summer's going by too fast, and I'm tired as Hell right now. But I do have some good news. I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.

Excuse the lame joke. I am called SirGecko for a reason, but anyway, this chapter came way easier than the previous. And it's just about as long too. This is some real good news. Anyway, for the review responses. A pretty shallow crowd, but that's okay. I wasn't expecting much since the update gap between chapter 5 and chapter six was over two months. Anyway . . .

Anime-Master7: Yes, Mordoc is an original character. And yes, I couldn't live in that lifestyle at all. It really sucks. Hmm. Maybe I'm brutal, putting people in my story through unbearable things. But it's fiction.

BlackDemon567: Yes the ending was gruesome, but it can't be all on Earth. I'd be bored with my own story that way, and that's definitely not good.

NintendoGamer: Thank you for all the support. You wait no more!

Great Saiyaman: Wow, this is a long review. Thank you for contributing an idea to my work, I might use it sometime in the future. If you have any other suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them. Thanks again. . Here's another chapter!

Lord issac: Wow. All I can say is that that would suck. I can't stand screaming toddlers. It just drives me crazy, and the reason I wrote so well about them is because I portrayed my feelings about it through Garet and Solaris. By the way, how was San Diego? I've always wanted to go there.

smurfyyelvz: Thank you. By the way, interesting screen name.

Ssonic: Well at least we aren't starting another war. And your last comment . . . did you mean update? Or did you want me to review something of yours? Anyway, thanks for the support.

Well, that seems to be it. On with chapter six!

**Chapter 6: Rescue Felix, Part II**

They had no idea . . .

****Ivan and Lunora's taxi made its way slowly through Fairbanks. As it was October, it was dark again and heavy snow was falling. Very heavy snow. Phil had the windshield wipers on, the rhythmic _swish swish_ almost putting Ivan and Lunora back to sleep again. However, the fact that they had finally arrived in Fairbanks kept them awake.

"You've been sleeping almost twelve hours straight," remarked Phil, glancing at them by way of his rearview mirror. "It took me longer than expected to get up here. By the time we got into Alaska, the snow was coming down pretty hard, though not as hard as this."

"It reminds me of home," said Lunora. "I'd sure like to go back to Tundris Again."

The taxi was now in Fairbanks itself, the headlights shining out a path on the road through the blizzard raging outside. Lights were on in the windows of stores and homes that dotted either side of the street.

"Well, where to guys?" asked Phil, turning onto a side street.

"We don't know, that's the problem," said Ivan. "All we know is that he's somewhere in town."

"I see," said Phil, looking slightly concerned. "Well, you'd better hurry. If we stay here too much longer, I don't know if we're going to be able to get out of town with all the snow. I'll let you off here, at this convenience store."

"All right," Ivan nodded.

Phil said nothing for a moment. "And I don't mean to be a hardass here, but if you're not back in an hour, I'm going to have to leave. Otherwise, we may be stuck here indefinitely."

Ivan and Lunora sucked in their breath. An hour was not long at all, a very small window of time to work with. Besides, they didn't even know where Felix was. At this rate, they'd be stuck getting a bus or a plane back to Seattle.

"Alright, we'll do our best to meet you back here in an hour," said Lunora. "If we are not back, here's your money now."

"Okay, and here's a watch some guy left behind that you can have to keep track of the time," said Phil, reaching into the glove compartment.

She handed Phil a full three thousand dollars for the ride. Phil looked slightly surprised at the generous sum, but took it all the same. He stopped the car in front of the convenience store and handed Ivan the watch, then motioned for them to get out. Once done, they shut the door behind them, and looked around.

"Well, where should we start?" asked Ivan. "It's freezing out here. Let's make this quick."

"Well, my bet is that he went inside somewhere," said Lunora. "When he disappeared, it wasn't exactly cold in Vale so he's probably freezing right now."

"**That **narrows it down," Ivan said sardonically. "What with the hundreds of buildings in this town."

Lunora shook her head knowledgeably. "You're right, that doesn't exactly help, does it?" she sighed. "Well, we'll ask around first. I know I'm freezing myself. I wish I'd bought pants like you and the other guys did."

"It's 10:25 on the watch. We have 55 minutes left," said Ivan. "Let's go."

They chose a random direction at the intersection they were at, and decided to go left, down a street lined with small houses. Lights were on in the frosted windows as snow gathered itself into a small mound on each windowsill. It was completely dark now; the street lights were the only things enabling Ivan and Lunora to see. They cast their light all around, and both Ivan and Lunora had to admit that the outline of the snow falling in the light was extremely pretty.

They stopped at a smaller house than was commonly seen on the street. Walking up the pathway, which was barely distinguishable through the gathering snow, they made their way to the porch and knocked on the door. There was no answer so Ivan rapped harder on the door. His hand was almost numb with cold, so he couldn't tell whether the force of his knocking was damaging his hand or not.

Just as they turned away to try another house, the door opened and an elderly lady came into view.

"Can I help you?" she asked, smiling down at them (they had descended the small set of stairs that led up to the porch).

"Um, yes," said Lunora uncertainly. "We're looking for a man who-"

"Come in, out of the weather before you catch cold," said the lady, moving aside so that Ivan and Lunora could cross the threshold into her house. "Would you like some hot chocolate? Coffee? Tea?"

"Coffee would be great!" said Ivan, thanking her and making his way over toward the easy chair in sight.

"I'd like some hot herbal tea," said Lunora. "I always used to have tea in Tun- where I used to live when I was cold," she added, catching her mistake.

"I'll get it for you," said the old lady, shuffling into the kitchen.

Ivan and Lunora collapsed into separate furniture, both seated around a woodstove which burned with such heat that Ivan and Lunora weren't cold for much longer. Precious minutes disappeared from their time limit as they heard the old lady puttering around in the kitchen. On the plus side, by the time their hot beverages arrived, Ivan could fully feel his hands again and Lunora regained the feeling in her legs.

"Now what was it that you wanted to ask me?" the old lady asked them, sitting down across from Ivan.

"We wanted to know if you've seen a friend of ours," explained Ivan, sipping his coffee. "You see, we were . . . how should I put this . . . separated, and now we can't find him."

"He has long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, he has a green cape on with brown leather pants and a green and orange leather shirt. He's also wearing brown gloves and boots," Lunora recalled, trying her hardest to remember what Felix looked like in the short time she had seen him.

The old lady raised her eyebrows. "That's certainly odd dresswear, but I bet it keeps him warm," said the lady thoughtfully. "But I have good news. I did see a man fitting your description walk by my window when I was looking for my grandson. He was going left down the street."

Ivan's and Lunora's hearts leapt. "How long ago?" asked Lunora, taking a gulp of tea.

"Not long ago at all, about ten minutes before you guys showed up," said the lady.

"Thank you very much," said Lunora. "Both for telling us and for the drinks and your hospitality. "Not a problem, are you going now?" the old lady asked.

"Yes, before we lose him," said Ivan, setting down his half-empty cup of coffee. "Thanks again, um-"

"It's Linda," said the old lady. "And you are whom?"

"I'm Lunora, this is Ivan," said Lunora, introducing themselves.

"Good luck you two!" said Linda. "Stay warm!"

"We will," Ivan replied as they walked out the door.

They walked back out onto the road, now feeling the wrath of the freezing air that was growing even colder. Ivan checked the watch. They had thirty minutes left. They were ahead of the clock for now, but they didn't know how long it would last. It was when Lunora looked at the road that they caught another break.

"Look! Footprints!" she shouted, pointing.

Ivan looked in the direction of her finger, and sure enough there were footprints in the middle of the road, but they were filling up fast with snow. They made sure that no cars were coming their way, and then walked out into the middle of the road to check them out.

"I'm not a good judge form what I saw, but I think these could very well be Felix's prints," said Ivan analytically, bending close to the ground. "They aren't that full of snow, and, well . . . maybe I'm just going on false hope."

"We have nothing else to go on! Let's follow them!" said Lunora, setting off briskly down the road, Ivan jogging to keep up.

They followed the road for ten minutes before the direction of the footprints changed. They turned left at another intersection, and then went off to the side of the road along the sidewalk which Ivan and Lunora had been walking. They followed them for another few minutes before the footprints dead-ended in a small alleyway.

"Felix!" Ivan called. "Felix! Are you here? Hello!"

"Where are you Felix?" Lunora asked. It felt like they were calling a stubborn dog.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Ivan said.

"Come on Felix! If you're there, talk to us! We need to go! Right now!" Lunora shouted, urgency in her voice."

"Who's there?" a voice in the blackness ahead shouted.

Both Ivan and Lunora jumped. "Felix! Is that you? It's Ivan and Lunora! We've come to get you out of here!"

"Oh thank all the Gods!" Felix said, coming out of the darkness.

Felix looked like he'd been through all kinds of Hell. His face was colorless, and his lips were cracked and bleeding. This reminded Ivan forcefully of Isaac and their trip to Tundris on the way to the Luna Lighthouse. His clothes were covered with snow and ice and were badly wrinkled. His hair had come out of its traditional ponytail, and now lay all over his face like an overlarge mop. And his expression yearned for warmth and food.

"How did you find me?" Felix asked.

"There'll be time for questions later," said Ivan. "Right now, we have-" he checked his watch, "ten minutes to get to our one-way ticket out of this place. Let's not miss it."

Felix instantly understood, and the three set off at a run back down the street. Felix followed Ivan and Lunora, but quickly lagged behind due to his lack of strength and the fact that he was a Venus Adept. Ivan thought fast.

"The Wise One said no weapons, but he didn't say anything about Djinn," he said. "Zephyr! Make us fast!"

Zephyr popped out and unleashed it's speedy winds on the three. They instantly felt the strength in their legs replenished (Lunora had a little trouble sensing this), and they set off at a run again. This time, they were much faster, and nobody would have seen them if they tried as they sped at top speed back down the street.

-------

They were too late.

Once they skidded to a halt outside the convenience store where Ivan and Lunora had been dropped off, they saw only the tire tracks of the taxi that was their only way out. After staring numbly for a few long seconds, the realization began to sink in. They were now stranded in the frozen land of Alaska.

"Son-of-a-bitch!" Ivan shouted, slamming his fist into a nearby wall. "Shit. What the Hell are we going to do now?"

"Our ride is gone, isn't it?" Felix muttered.

"What the Hell do you think?" Ivan snapped, kicking at the snow.

"Calm down," said Lunora. "It's okay, Ivan. We'll be alright. I'm sure there are other means of getting out of here."

"Calm down?" said Ivan, voice unnaturally high. "Calm down, did you say? Here we are, standing here at a store in the middle of Who-the-Hell-Knows-Where, and I'm supposed to calm down?"

"She's right," said Felix calmly, looking up. "I'm sure your mother told you panicking doesn't solve anything."

"I never knew my mother," Ivan spat. "I never had the luxury of learning the things mothers are supposed to teach to their children."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Felix. "I really mean it. All I'm trying to say is that we'll accomplish more once we're all calmed down."

They all stood in total silence for a minute, not moving at all. They didn't even bother to wipe the snow off of them that accumulated in that time. Finally, Ivan exhaled deeply, and put down his hands from where he had previously folded them up.

"I'm sorry to both of you," he muttered. "I lost my temper. I lost my temper because I was afraid."

Lunora came up behind him and put her arms around him gently. "It takes a big man to admit he's afraid," she said. "And it's okay. I understood how you felt."

Ivan said no more about the subject, and instead said, "Do you have the scrolls? Maybe there's something in there about other modes of transportation."

Lunora nodded and slid the scrolls out from where she had kept them tucked into the waistline of her leather skirt. Ivan took them and unrolled them, ignoring the crease down the middle from where they had been squished. He scanned them for a few minutes, and then began to read aloud.

"A bus line is the most effective ground transportation for long distances," he read. "For a monetary fee, they can transport you anywhere you like along their route within your search site. To obtain passage, you must call their number and make a reservation and state where you are . . . name . . . where you want to go . . ." Ivan trailed off, lips moving soundlessly as he read the text. "This looks simple enough," he said, rolling the scrolls back up.

"Call their number? I don't think they'll be open at quarter to midnight," said Lunora, looking around.

"Well, by the sounds of it we'll have to wait until tomorrow," said Felix evenly. "Now we need to sleep. Since it's too late to seek refuge from the cold in any house, I suggest we make ourselves comfortable under that big thing over there," said Felix, pointing to a motorhome.

"You're nuts," Ivan scoffed. "I can't sleep tonight anyway."

"Well, goodnight then," said Felix, crawling under the motorhome.

Both Felix and Lunora climbed under and lay down on the hard, cold ground that was not covered by snow, courtesy of the motorhome. Lunora tossed and turned, and could not sleep. Ivan shook his head as he heard Felix's gentle snores before joining him and Lunora.

-------

They were frozen.

Ivan, Lunora, and Felix woke up with sore backs and freezing skin, the first thing they saw being the "guts" of the motorhome. Ivan, instantly awake from the little drowziness he was able to sink into that night, got up and made his way over to the phone booth.

He looked in the phone book under the yellow pages, searching for the word "bus." He came up with Greyhound Bus Lines, and he picked up the phone and dialed the number next to the name.

"_Please deposit twenty-five cents._" said a monotonous female voice.

"What?" said Ivan, staring at the phone like it had accused him of something. "That sucks. I have no change."

"I found this on the street," said Felix from behind, making Ivan jump.

Felix showed Ivan a quarter, and Ivan took it and deposited it into the coin slot on the phone, and dialed the number. Lunora and Felix watched him talk.

"Yes, three people to Seattle, Washington from Fairbanks, Alaska . . . today . . . there is! Great . . . what do you mean, was? . . . what?! . . . It crashed. I see . . . yes, the next one . . . a week?! No we can't wait that long . . . okay. A list of who was on the bus? Well, it doesn't concern me but okay . . ." A long pause. "Whoa! Stop. What were those last names? . . . okay. Yes, we know them . . . Thanks." Ivan hung up the phone, sounding as though all happiness was gone forever.

"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Lunora.

"Well, the bus crashed on its way up here, and many of the passengers were killed in the accident," said Ivan.

"That's terrible!" said Lunora.

"Oh it gets better," said Ivan, not sounding like anything was better at all. "She gave me the list of who was on that bus in the last two days."

"And?" Felix said.

"Well, Garet and Solaris were on that bus two days ago," said Ivan. "They weren't found with the wreckage, but nobody has seen them since."

"Oh God . . ." said Lunora, burying her face in Ivan shoulder and breaking down.

"Garet? The one I've known for over fifteen years?" asked Felix, shocked.

Ivan, not knowing what to do with the combined fact of Lunora sobbing into his shoulder and dealing with his own worries, just softly ran his fingers through her hair in a reassuring manner. "Well, look on the bright side. They may still be alive. They . . ."

"They might . . ." said Felix, trailing off.

In the end, he fell silent and stuck his hands in his pockets, not knowing what to say as Lunora sobbed into Ivan's shoulder. Minutes passed. Many of them. Eventually though, Lunora stood up, face red and eyes glistening.

"You-you're right," she hiccuped. "They still might be alive. I s-suppose we should try to find a w-way back?"

"Don't try to forget it, I already have," said Felix. "It's not working."

"I'm not," said Lunora thickly. "But we need to get back to Seattle, don't we?"

"Well, I remember you had mentioned something about flying in a plane," said Ivan. "Maybe we could try that."

"It's our last shot," Lunora agreed, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her silver shirt. "Let's give it a try."

"I'm fresh out of quarters though," said Felix. "My luck isn't **that** good."

All looked around aimlessly for a minute or so, as if willing another quarter to appear on the ground. But no such luck. All had the gloomy prospect of not ever seeing Garet or Solaris again hanging over them. But they all shoved it out of their mind and focused on the current problem. Then Ivan saw the solution.

"Oh, damn," said Ivan, chuckling to himself. "I feel quite stupid right now."

"Why is that?" asked Lunora, looking at him.

"Look at that," said Ivan.

He waved his hand in the direction of the convenience store they had been standing outside of. As the others followed his gaze, they saw what he meant about feeling stupid. A big glowing sign hung in the window that clearly said "OPEN" in big letters.

"Thanks for putting a little humor in my life right now," said Lunora, taking hold of Ivan's hand and then leading them into the convenience store to call the airport.

-------

_"Ladies and gentlemen, we will now commence with boarding United Airlines flight 217 to Seattle, Washington. We will now board rows 41-30. Repeat, we are now boarding rows 41-30. Thank you for choosing United."_

Ivan, Lunora, and Felix got up from the seats where they were waiting and joined the line of people with seats in the boarding range called over the loudspeaker. They had placed the call a few hours ago, and managed to get seats in the way back of the plane. Even luckier, the plane was leaving that same day.

Since they had had a few hours before the plane was scheduled to leave, and they were traveling light, walking to the airport had been no problem. They made their way through security quickly too for the same reason, and were now standing in line to get on board their flight back to Seattle.

"May I see your tickets please?" asked the friendly person next to the door leading to the plane. Ivan, Lunora, and Felix handed her the tickets and she scanned them. "Row 38, seats D, E, and F. Thank you. Enjoy your flight," she said.

About fifteen minutes later, they were seated and the plane was fully boarded. Ivan, Lunora and Felix were looking all around them, amazed at the sheer science behind this sort of thing.

"It's amazing that this thing will fly in the air! I can't wait!" said Ivan, craning his neck behind him to look at the rear of the plane.

"It's neat, isn't it?" said Felix. "We should be leaving any minute now." As if in answer to his statement, the loudspeaker crackled and one of the flight attendants began to speak.

_"We thank you once again for choosing United Airlines, and we ask that your seats and tray tables be in their upright and locked positions for takeoff and landing. Please observe the fasten seatbelt sign, which will be removed once we get airborne, but we advise you remain buckled at all times. This is a non-smoking flight, no smoking allowed on board whatsoever." _There was a moment's pause."_We should be leaving in a moment. Our flight time today is 4 hours, 31 minutes, and we should be arriving in Seattle at about 7:34 this evening. We hope you enjoy your flight."_

"Well," said Lunora, sighing happily and somehow forgetting her concern for Garet and Solaris, "we made it."

-------

It was just another job.

An inquisitor strolled down the cold, stone hallway of the Tundris Jail, ignoring the pleas of desperation from the beaten and bruised men and women inside the cells on his left side. His work was top in the field, and he was being paid well by the Wise One and his forces to interrogate the prisoners for information, and even torture them further if they refused to cooperate.

His mission was to report back to the Wise One with any information that would be valuable pertaining to the Luna Lighthouse. Right now, he was on his way to question a man who was being stubborn and uncooperative with the Wise One's forces stationed at the prison. No beatings forced information out of this man, but the Inquisitor had his ways.

He always had his ways.

He reached the interrogation room at the end of the hallway, guarded by a Mars Adept and a Venus Adept. They let him into the cell, and they shut the door with a loud bang behind him. The prisoner, who looked badly beaten and was barely conscious, jumped as the door closed. A small smile tugged at the corner of the inquisitor's lips. He was afraid. It always helped if the interrogated were afraid.

"I believe you know why you're here," said the inquisitor coldly, staring hard at the bloodshot eyes of the prisoner.

"Who are you?" he asked weakly.

"Who I am is not important," the inquisitor said. "Besides," he added, putting his face right up to the prisoner's, "I believe **I'm** asking the questions here today, not you."

"What do you want?" said the prisoner.

"Why, that's a silly question," said the inquisitor, smiling serenely. "I want information. It's what every inquisitor wants." He paused, and looked at the ceiling. "But like I said, you're in no position to ask questions." He then glared at the prisoner and asked sharply, "What do **you** want?" There was no response. "Answer the question!"

"You don't want to know what I want," the prisoner said.

"I'm an inquisitor," the inquisitor said, holding out his skeletal white arms to the ceiling. "I want to know all! Knowledge is power! Power is knowledge!" He said. "Now," he said, in a much slower, more lethal tone. "Tell me. What . . . do . . . you . . . want?"

"I want your whole group to die," said the prisoner. "You can all rot in Hell. Luna's got a special place reserved for all you people. She'll make you suffer the wrath. She'll make you pay for what you've done to our people."

The inquisitor grew quite angry, and a look of repulsion took over his face. He was done playing around with this insignificant fool. It was time to get nasty and get down to the business he was getting paid for.

"I have only one question. Tell me what I need to know, and I'll let you and everyone here live," the inquisitor hissed. "Otherwise, you'll have a slit throat."

"Oh please no! No! I beg of you!"

"Tell me!" shouted the Inquisitor. "How do you extinguish Luna Lighthouse?"

"Oh I have no idea, it's supposed to be impossible-"

"TELL ME!" the inquisitor spat.

"Okay okay!" The prisoner said fearfully, holding up his cut hands. "Just have an adept of the opposing element fire a Psynergy bolt into the lighthouse's core. The lighthouse will be destroyed if you do."

The inquisitor's features relaxed. "Thank you sir," he said kindly. "You've been most helpful."

"Luna curse you," the man rasped as the inquisitor walked out the door.

Outside the room once the door to the interrogation room closed, the inquisitor turned an expressionless face to the Mars Adept, who looked at him.

"Well sir, was he cooperative?" the man asked. "We couldn't get a thing out of him."

"That's quite all right, it's what I'm here for," said the inquisitor. "I got the information I need. However . . ." the inquisitor paused and then smirked. "He was a little rude. Kill him."

The Mars Adept nodded and stepped inside the room. A sudden piercing scream, and the swish of a weapon. The Venus Adept guarding the other side of the door couldn't take it anymore. She heard everything said in the room, and decided. She would no longer be part of an army that killed her own parents because of a setup the Wise One called an "accident". She stealthily drew out her flaming morning star and crept up behind the inquisitor.

"Think of me as Luna," she snarled before slicing the morning star across the inquisitor's back.

The inquisitor dropped to the floor immediately, not dead, but squirming in pain and unable to get up. This girl saved the secret of the Luna Lighthouse, but the Jupiter Adepts guarding the other end of the hall noticed what was going on, and they approached quickly.

"Gretchen! What the-" they shouted, but they didn't finish their sentence as Gretchen fired a blast of rocks that them that knocked them out cold.

She fled down the passageway and out the door of the prison. She skirted the sides of buildings that weren't visible to the patrolling guards, and managed to sneak out of Tundris. She traversed the cave that led to the other side of the mountains and made her way to a ship.

"Contigo's next on the Wise One's list of cities to attack. I have to flee! I must stay clear of all cities close to a lighthouse and Mt. Aleph!" she said to herself. "But where should I go?"

In the end, she decided on Tolbi.

There, she would plot her revenge.

--------------------------------------

Of course you know Solaris and Garet made it off that bus. Of course they're okay.

Or are they?

Keep your eyes peeled for chapter seven, and as always, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!

-SirGecko-


	7. Mordoc, the Warning Sign

Hm. It's been a long while. A long, long, long, long while. But better late than never, they say. Anyways, I'm back with chapter seven, finally. I realize that many of you have probably a) given up hope in the fact that I'll ever update again b) remembered this story and have been really pissed at me for not updating c) both.

Anyways, I apologize, once again, for the lack in updating. But it was not laziness. I came up with such a bad case of Writer's Block on the fight with Mordoc that it was unbelievable. I managed to get through it all though and come out with a 10 3/4 page chapter. Once I get past the Chapter with rescuing Jenna, updates will be much more frequent. I've got almost everything past that point thought out.

REMEMBER TO CHECK MY BIO FOR MONTHLY UPDATES. IF YOU WONDER WHAT EXCUSE I'M USING FOR NOT UPDATING, YOU'LL FIND IT THERE. THIS PROVES I'M NOT LAZY AND I AT LEAST BOTHER TO UPDATE MY BIO.

Now, to the review responses.

Anime-Master7: I'm glad you like the flashes to Weyard. In my opinion, they make up for any crappy parts in the rest of the chapter. As for the updating part . . . cowers

Black Demon567: I'm glad it's getting interesting. It's better and better from here.

Lord isaac: I know he won't be called the Wise One for much longer. I had already considered those suggestions. I may just have to use one of them. The "wise One" defier is going to become a key character, to let you in on a little secret. gets an icicle shoved in the mouth I take it I wasn't supposed to say that . . .

Great Saiyaman: Aw, who doesn't torture the characters every now and then?

Pat Burner: No, you waited 4 damn months for me to continue. Probably pretty pissed at me, aren't you? Please don't be.

Ssonic: Three thousand dollars . . . I'd like that much money too, if I were a cab driver. I'd go across the country for that much money.

NintendoGamer: Come on. It's Alaska. But you're right, there were no problems at the airport and there should have been, even though they didn't have any luggage.

She's going to be a major character, as I told Lord isaac gets another icicle shoved in the mouth I'll shut up about this now.

Princess Viv: Hm. Haven't seen you before. Thanks for your kind reviews on both this story and its prequel! Much appreciated!

I've kept you waiting long enough. Onto chapter 7.

**Chapter 7: Mordoc, The Warning Sign**

This didn't look good.

The man clad in black known as Mordoc (though Garet or Solaris didn't know his name yet) stood before them formidably, blocking passage back to their gateway home. He stood there with his arms crossed, black cape and long blond hair billowing in the sea breeze. Though Garet, Piers, and Solaris thought he looked formidable for some reason, they didn't have the faintest idea what was going on.

"Just who the Hell are you?" Garet said, surveying the man up and down.

"I am called Mordoc, by both friends and foes," said the man, smiling dangerously. "I've been told you're a foe, so I've come to . . . greet you," he added, chuckling harshly.

"Who told you that?" asked Solaris.

"You'll find out sooner or later," said Mordoc, chuckling. "Things are very different back home now that you're gone."

"What's going on?" asked Solaris, sounding as though his patience was nearing its end.

Mordoc put up his gloved hands and shrugged. "Why spoil the surprise? That is . . . if you ever get to see it," he said, drawing out his weapon.

Both Garet and Solaris reached instinctively by their sides for their own weapon, but realized with sudden terror that they were far, far away on Weyard. Mordoc, on the other hand, drew out a bladed staff. The middle looked like an ordinary staff, but the ends were equipped with two-foot blades that looked like a slithering snake, as the blades were not straight, but . . . well, serpentlike. They glinted brightly in the unusual Seattle sun. The staff itself was made of what looked like polished mahogany.

"Well well, I notice that you two boys are weaponless," said Mordoc, smirking with satisfaction. "I'm glad. I want to get back to Weyard and ensure the Big Boss that I've disposed of you two."

"Just us?" asked Piers. "Why?"

"Your deaths will impact the others more significantly than if I were to attack the other two pairs," Mordoc explained. "I asked myself 'will they be the first ones back?'. And then I answered, 'Probably not. Mia and Isaac would be the first back'. But as they're not around, they will live . . . as long as they don't show up here, while we're, uh . . . taking care of business, shall I say."

"And who is the Big Boss?" asked Solaris.

"You honestly think I'm going to tell you?" Mordoc said, starting to laugh. "You're more of a fool than people make you out to be. If you want to know so badly, you will defeat me in battle."

"How?" Garet snarled. "We don't have our weapons!"

"Well now that's just too bad," Mordoc taunted. "But, none of my concern either. Now, we duel!"

Garet, Solaris, and Piers held their fists out and their arms to defend any blows from the bladed staff. Mordoc struck them hard and fast with the non-bladed part of the staff, which soon resulted in their arms becoming quite sore, even bleeding in some places. Occasionally Mordoc would swing the staff in the hopes that he could slice someone in half with the serpent blades, in which case the three had to be ready and jump out of the way just in time. They could tell that the blades were elemental; a green streak would follow every swish. They just hoped they wouldn't have to find out what it was.

"You guys are dull," Mordoc said, finally putting the staff to rest at his side. "Have it your way. Let's make this a fair fight." He tossed his staff aside, leaving him weaponless.

"What? You want us to fight without weapons?" Garet said, putting up his fists.

"Are you an Adept or not?" Mordoc cried exasperatedly. "Come on. I know you're a Mars Adept. So am I!"

Instantly after this, they felt the heat of Garet's strongest move turned on them: Pyroclasm. The hot magma blasting them from underneath Blisters and raw patched erupted on each of their skins as the Mars Psynergy singed their Earther clothes. By the time the spell dissipated, both were bleeding from the heat, and their clothes had been turned black.

Garet returned the favor with his most powerful single move: Liquefier. The beams gathered around Mordoc and then exploded. After that, pillars of raw, searing Mars energy spiked all around Mordoc, most going straight through him. It was a quick yet deadly move, though Mordoc hardly seemed affected.

"You're rough," Mordoc taunted. "That singed a bit. Oh, and do you know your friend Isaac?"

"What did you do with him?" Garet asked aggressively.

"Nothing . . . life-threatening," Mordoc chuckled. "I just wanted to see if you recognized this move," said Mordoc.

To Garet's and Solaris's complete surprise, Mordoc cast Stone Spire. But their surprise quickly turned to extreme pain when seven stone spires rained down upon them. And as they had no armor, they had to dodge all of them. They did, knowing that if they were impaled by the tips without proper armor on, it would be all over. However, the "shrapnel" from the spires collided with Solaris and Garet, so violently that a couple of pieces embedded in their skin.

Garet and Solaris pulled the pieces out of their bodies and very quickly assessed the situation. The three healers- Isaac, Mia and Lunora, were not here. They brought no potions or other items with them from Weyard. Their armor was back on Weyard. Their weapons were back on Weyard. The situation was not good at all, to put it mildly.

Mordoc was also apparently multi-elemental, and they didn't know how in the Hell that was possible. They were sure he could wield the powers of Jupiter and Mercury as well, but they didn't dare try to find out. But they knew he had a weakness. Everyone always had a weakness. . . . Didn't they?

"You must be tired of this," Mordoc said in a mock casual tone. "Stone Spire, Pyroclasm, you've seen it all already! And now you know what it feels like to have it used on you!"

"This is baby stuff!" Garet shouted back. "We've been blasted by this crap from Karst and Agatio, Saturos and Menardi from the beginning of our old journey."

"True," Mordoc thought. It was as though Garet, Solaris, Piers, and Mordoc were carrying on casual conversation. "What about this though?"

Mordoc raised his hands, and fired rays of red, orange, blue, and purple at the three. Solaris was hit by the red ray. His shirt caught on fire where the ray impacted, and it knocked the wind out of him, sending him sprawling. The orange and blue rays struck Garet, who also keeled over. He was doused in water when the blue ray impacted. Piers was hit by the purple one, and electricity surrounded him after impact. He also fell over.

They had never seen or felt anything like it. Such a large mount of Psynergy concentrated into such a small, yet powerful attack . . . and the fact that Mordoc appeared to be able to wield all four elements made him an even stranger, more dangerous adversary. The rays all made them collapse onto the ground. But a few minutes later, gasping for breath, all three stood up.

Solaris was the first one to regain enough of his breath to wheeze out one of his own attacks. "Sunbeam!" he yelled.

Green particles came floating to his fingertips from the direction of the sun. Once enough power gathered around his hand, he thrust his fingertips forward and directed for sunbeams onto Mordoc, one striking him in the face. Mordoc, though powerful enough to wield the power of all four Common Elements, was unprepared for this attack. He writhed under its power. But Sunbeam alone was not enough.

Garet got an idea. He remembered how hot the sun was in the summer, so he decided to fuel Solaris's Sunbeam attack with some of his own Psynergy. In this way, Sol and Mars sort of went hand in hand, he reasoned. He just hoped that the combined effort might bring Mordoc to his knees. He knew that one person could not take him out alone.

"It's worth a shot," he said to himself, trying to decide in a split-second what attack to use. "Liquefier!" he shouted.

It seemed to work. The heat of the Mars attack itself plus the fact that it fed Solaris's Sunbeam was too much for Mordoc to put up with. He dropped to the ground just as both attacks dissipated simultaneously. He was still conscious however; the combined effort of Garet's and Solaris's attacks probably had the same effect on Mordoc as his rays did on Garet, Solaris, and Piers.

Piers stepped forward to chip in. "Diamond Berg!" he cried. Instantly, Mordoc was encased in an iceberg. But Piers didn't move.

"Aren't you supposed to start breaking the ice to cause the damage?" Garet asked.

"I didn't do the attack to do damage," said Piers. "I did it so that he couldn't attack us for a minute, and to make him stay put."

"Great," muttered Garet. "What do we do with him when he melts?"

"Knock him out . . . that's the only thing I can think of," Piers said.

"Or . . . we could shove his ass back home and get the Hell out of here," said a voice.

All three looked up. Isaac had come through the door, rubbing his head. When he lifted his hand, they could see a lump there, protruding form the under the spiky-blond hair about half an inch. He looked miserable. And pissed.

"Isaac!" Garet said, walking forward to meet him and slapping him on the back. "What the Hell happened to you?"

"I don't know really," he said, glancing sideways at the icicle that was Mordoc. "I was knocked out by something . . . or someone, for that matter," he said. "So were Mia and Sheba. They're still out. I tried to wake them up, but . . ."

"Maybe Garet should try singing," Solaris piped up. "That would wake up my dear old grandmother from the grave, that would."

Garet chose to ignore this. "I'll bet you that Mordoc knocked you out," he said.

"Hm," said Piers, who had been thinking about this whole thing for the past few minutes. "If he just knocked you guys out, and waited for us . . . then he plainly wanted to kill me, Garet and Solaris. . . . But why?"

"I'm more worried about why he came here in the first place," Isaac said. "Something's going very wrong back home. I'm worried."

"Once Ivan and Lunora get here, we should return to Weyard immediately," said Solaris.

"I am going _nowhere_ without Jenna, dammit!" Garet shouted. "You guys can go if you want. I'll stay here by myself if I have to."

"Sorry Garet, I completely forgot about her right there," Solaris apologized.

"Forgot?" Garet said indignantly. "How could you forget?"

"Well, it's rather easy for someone who doesn't spend every waking moment thinking about getting in bed with her," Isaac said irritably, feeling his head and wincing.

"Shut up, Isaac," Garet muttered, going red in the face. He decided to change the subject. "Okay. So Piers has a point. If someone from Weyard was sent here to kill me, Solaris and Piers, then something's definitely wrong."

"And the only way to get here through this portal is through the Sol Sanctum," said Solaris. "So the Wise One must have known about . . . this . . . . oh no . . ."

"You can't be serious!" Garet said, almost laughing. "The Wise One sent this black-clad maggot to kill us? The Wise One's supposed to be a mindful, ever-watching guardian, not a backstabbing revenge . . . person!"

"Well, he wasn't necessarily pleased with us when we got home," said Mia's voice from behind.

Mia had woken up while Isaac, Garet, Solaris, and Piers were talking. She had plainly been listening in on the conversation. Sporting a bump of similar size to Isaac's on the side of her head as well, she seemed not to be in pain. They assumed that she had dimmed the pain with her healing powers as soon as she awoke. This reminded Isaac that he had Potent Cure, and he cast it on himself right then, feeling the pain diminish slightly.

"True," said Piers. "It seemed as though he were way too eager to send us on this "world-hunt", if you want to call it that. Like he wanted to get us lost and then send you after us."

"So he could pull off whatever back home . . ." Isaac finished. "That makes sense."

"No . . . not possible!" Garet argued. "The Wise One has looked over our village since before my grandfather was born. He's looked after all Adepts, Valean or Proxian! He would never betray our kind like this!"

"I don't think he's betraying Adepts," said Mia. "The whole world changed after we lit the lighthouses. That's the only thing that's happened since we last saw the Wise One that could have possibly changed him so much."

"So what you're saying is," Solaris said hesitantly, hand in the air to stop Mia, "that the Wise One planned this from the beginning to get us out of the way while he seizes control of the lighthouses?"

"Most likely," said Isaac. "There's obviously something evil going on back home. We must head for Reno as soon as Solaris and Lunora get back."

"I can't accept this," said Garet stubbornly. "That isn't the Wise One I know."

"Look at this!" Mia snapped. "An Adept comes through the portal, in Sol Sanctum for the Gods' sake, and tries to kill you, Solaris, and Piers! How can you deny that the Wise One is plotting something, when you consider his actions before he sent us here, and now this? You'll never cease to amaze me with your stubbornness."

"Mia, you don't know the Wise One like I do," Garet shot back. "Don't talk shit about something you don't know about."

"People!" Isaac shouted. "Enough already. We don't even know what the Hell is going on and we're at each others' throats. No more talk about this until we get there. It's just as well anyway, we don't want people to notice us."

"Sorry Isaac," Garet and Mia chimed together.

"No apologies, let's just act civil for two more days," Isaac said. "We have one day until Ivan and Lunora get back."

"Wow, they had a long trip," Piers said. "Who were they going after?"

"Felix," said Isaac. "Now Garet, Solaris, and Piers, you both need new clothes. Your other ones are toast. As well, Piers, freeze Mordoc again. Then we'll send him back to Weyard. With luck, the sanctum will be cold enough that he won't thaw for a day. This should give us enough time to beat it out of Seattle and get Jenna."

"Yes sir!" said Garet enthusiastically.

"Now, I'm going to revive Sheba," said Isaac. "Let's get our bearings in Seattle for the rest of the day. That way, we'll know our way around when we have to navigate off this street. Ivan and Lunora should be back tomorrow evening."

-------

Twenty-four hours after the encounter with Mordoc, we find Ivan and Lunora in the air over

southern British Columbia, descending upon Seattle. The flight for them, although fascinating in the beginning, quickly became quite boring once they found out they had to stay in their seat for the duration. So they occupied themselves by looking at some of the magazines they found in the back of the seats, magazines such as People, 17, and Newsweek. Ivan was immersed in Newsweek, Felix had his nose buried in People, while Lunora looked at 17.

Ivan was fascinated by what he read in Newsweek. This magazine was full of facts about this world and what was happening in it. Currently, he was reading about the country Phil had mentioned in the car when he turned on the radio: Iraq. Apparently it was a war-torn area, and many people seemed to disagree around Earth about the United States invasion of the country. To hear the debates and the viewpoints of the people in the country made for a very fascinating read.

Felix looked equally fascinated. He was reading an article on the Presidential candidates for the United States Presidency. The current president, George Bush, was being challenged by John Kerry. From what Felix gathered, Bush stood for spreading freedom around the world as well as tax cuts, as well as protecting America from terrorists. Kerry was for that as well but he was also for strengthening the homeland and getting world allies back. Nevertheless, it was still extremely intersting to read about Earther politics.

Lunora was reading about something totally different. She was glad Ivan seemed interested in what he was reading; she found this magazine to be a bunch of garbage about fashion, waistline, and breast sizes. The only reason she really read it was to get an idea of teenage culture in this world. They seemed to be concerned with trivial things that would mean almost nothing five years form now.

"Look at this!" Ivan said, showing the magazine to Lunora and showing her a picture of some Iraqi insurgents holding grenade launchers and AK's. "This is what the normal people use to fight instead of axes and swords. Their culture is so much more advanced than ours."

"Also more violent," Lunora observed, looking with raised eyebrows at the casualty statistics that accompanied the photo. "It seems as if they want the United States out, though they removed their dictator."

"You should read this article," Ivan encouraged. "It's quite fascinating." He paused. "What are you reading?"

"Don't waste your time," Lunora snorted. "How about you Felix?"

"I'm reading about who's going to become the ruler of the United States," said Felix, not looking up from the article. It's pretty interesting, and it appears to be too close to call. You should-"

_"Welcome to Seattle, Washington. The time is 7:27; we're arriving a few minutes ahead of schedule. Please fasten your seatbelts and put all seatbacks and tray tables in their upright and locked position. All cell phones, laptop computers, and other related electronic devices are to be turned off at this time. We hope you enjoyed your flight."_

"I guess not," said Ivan, shaking his head. Lunora smiled and took the magazines, putting them back in the seat pocket.

A few minutes later, they touched down at Seattle's airport. Both felt the power needed to brake the plane, and knew that the thin strap of cloth at their waist was the only thing that kept them from flying forward and becoming plastered to the seat in front of them. Once the plane slowed down, Ivan. Felix and Lunora looked out the window, curious as ever as to how the Earthers operated something as complex as the commercial airline system.

The plane rolled slowly down the runway, and turned off onto a strip lined with gates with a letter and number on them. A few minutes later, their plane was directed to the gate D-12. The plane stopped and everyone was permitted to get up, get their stuff and depart the plane. Ivan, Felix and Lunora didn't need to do that of course, but they still had to wait for the aisles to clear up so they could get off the plane themselves.

Once off, they asked for directions on how to get out of the airport. They were directed down a wide hall bustling with people going in all directions. They followed the throng of people going the direction they were told to go. When they saw the exit, they formed a fork in the sea of people and left Seattle's busy airport.

They waited on the curb until they spotted a yellow car with black checkers on the side. One thing they did know a lot about now was the taxi system, and they hailed it. They climbed in quickly, and noticed that the cab smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. Before they had a chance to regard the rest of the cab, they were asked where they wanted to go. They looked at each other, suddenly hesitant.

"Uh . . . do you know where a golden eagle statue is?" asked Ivan.

"No man, I need something definite," said the cab driver, lighting a cigarette.

"It's overlooking a harbor," Lunora chimed in. "It's right next to a bridge, and it has a lot of shacks lined up in a row on the other side."

"Hm . . . anything more you can tell me, miss?" he asked, drawing hard on the cigarette and shrouding himself in gray smoke.

Ivan and Lunora, used to this kind of smoke from inns and bars they had traveled to on Weyard, did not mind the smoke, though they coughed. "Nothing more, that's all we can remember," said Ivan.

"Well . . . the cab driver said. "I think I remember driving across a bridge like that a few times. I'll see if I can remember how to get there."

Ivan, Felix and Lunora nodded, dread filling their hearts. They had to tell the others the news about Garet and Solaris. How their bus crashed before it even got to Alaska. That they were presumed dead by the people in charge of the corporation. Trying as hard as they could to put it out of their minds, they concentrated on the route that the cab driver took out of the airport.

They were probably in that cab for a good thirty minutes. The cab driver was mumbling to himself and smoking his cigarettes the whole time, trying to remember how he got to that bridge. Eventually, he found it. Pulling up to the side, he motioned for them to get out. Ivan handed him his money, and with a wave of farewell, the cab driver sped off down the bridge.

Ivan instantly detected that something was wrong. Though his Jupitarian powers were severely weakened here, he could still sense that something out of the ordinary was happening . . . or had already happened. He quickly crossed the street when he had the chance and waited for Lunora and Felix, who were trailing close behind. Ivan reached for the doorknob to the shack . . .

. . . when Garet opened the door.

"Garet!" Ivan shouted. "You're alive!" And to Garet's great surprise and slight discomfort, Ivan crunched him in a bear-hug.

"Uh, Ivan?" said Garet. "Did I miss something? You seem oddly . . . happy to see me."

"Where's Solaris?" Lunora asked, breathless.

"Right here," Solaris called.

She rushed forward hand hugged him as well, which left Isaac, Mia, Sheba, and Piers, as well as Garet and Solaris, extremely baffled at this more-than-warm welcome. There was a moment of silence in which all stood motionless, Felix still standing outside the door, a smile on his tired face. When both Ivan and Lunora stepped back, Garet asked Ivan his question again.

"Why are so happy to see us?" he said.

"Why not Isaac or Mia?" Solaris added.

"We . . . we thought you were dead," said Lunora in a small voice.

The rest exchanged shocked glances. "Dead?" Sheba said, bewildered. Ivan, Felix and Lunora filled them in on the story.

"Damn," was all Garet said.

"So our stop was the last one before it headed up to Alaska," said Solaris. "But it crashed before it got there. We're lucky, Garet."

"I guess so," said Garet.

Isaac them chimed in and told them about Mordoc, and about how he appeared to be able to wield all four Common Elements. After Ivan and Lunora shared their double-takes, Isaac told them what they had done with him. They also told Ivan and Lunora about their theories as to what was going on back home. By the time he was finished, both Ivan and Lunora stood, mouths slightly agape.

"The Wise One?" Ivan asked incredulously. "Why would he want to do that?"

"Fear of change," Mia said. "The lighthouses haven't been ablaze for over a thousand years, when our people were much more populous. Wars waged nonstop back then, and the whole world was chaotic. The Wise One doesn't want that to happen again."

"So he's fighting fire with fire," Sheba said wisely. "And those fires will probably merge."

"It's all bullshit," Garet muttered.

"He refuses to accept this," said Mia, glaring harshly at Garet. "Even though all the theories make sense and all are consistent with everything that's happened so far."

"It doesn't really matter who's behind it right now," said Ivan. "We still have to get Jenna. Then we can worry about this problem."

"I suggest we make the arrangements right now," said Lunora. "We can go to the airport now, and make arrangements to get the next flight to Reno."

"Right," said Sheba. "There are nine of us now. It'll be hard to get a plane out with that many seats left. Let's get moving."

-------

They had sensed something was wrong.

The citizens of Vale had recently become on edge. Rumors were flying everywhere about an uprising far to the south of a group of Adepts taking a town next to the Luna Lighthouse. And now there were rumors of an attack being planned in Contigo. The citizenry was worried about the possibility that this renegade group might come after them.

It seemed to be a group of Adepts. This had Dora in particular worried. Dora had become even more perceptive then she had been before Kyle died, noticing and assessing everything. This all seemed to start after Isaac, Garet, Ivan, Mia, Solaris and Lunora left for the new world. Like there was a conspiracy . . .

Never one to sit around and wait for something bad to come to her front door if she had a chance to stop it, she sat down at her kitchen table, a huge basket of assorted fruits in the middle of it, and wrote two identical letters, addressing one to Contigo and one to Tundris. It read:

_Dear fellow citizens,_

_I recently have heard rumors that your town has recently come under insurgent attack, and that the group was formed of Adepts and Adepts only. As a concerned citizen, I have taken it upon myself to gather as much information as possible about anything such as this, since there have been no rumors similar to this floating around for more than a thousand years. _

_If in fact the rumors are true, I would like to know as soon as possible so that I and the rest of my fellow citizens can prepare for the group and even send aid and forces there to assist in your situation. I hope for a prompt response and a detailed account of what is going on._

_Yours in fellowship,_

_A Valean citizen_

Dora took the two letters and took them over to her homing pigeon, tying the letters firmly to the legs of the pigeon. She picked it up and carried it outside. The bird squawked loudly upon going outside, and Dora calmed it.

"I realize it's been a while since you went on a trip," Dora told it. "Or one such as long. But this is extremely important. If these rumors are true, time is everything. Stop only when you need to and be as quick as you can. Go to Contigo first."

The bird squawked again and spread its wings. Leaping from Dora's palm, it took off into the setting sky, heading southwest for Contigo. Dora stood there until it was out of sight, watching it intently. Then she sighed and went back into her house. She sat down with a cup of soup she had been heating over the stove and ate in silence, wondering if Isaac and the others were okay . . . and whether or not there was any hope of getting Felix or Jenna back.

-------

The arrow was pointed at a pigeon.

The pigeon had obviously come from Vale, and it was carrying what looked to be two letters. It was flying southeast from Vale, and appeared to be carrying a message to Contigo, which had already been captured and secured by the Wise One's forces. The Venusian archer pulled back on his bow, tongue stuck out slightly to the right.

It helped him aim.

The sweet twang of the string of the bow as it launched the arrow from it at lightning speed. The arrowhead sliced the air as it went whizzing at the pigeon, still flying for Contigo and not aware of the arrow heading straight for it. But soon it did become aware of the arrow, all right.

When it went straight through the pigeon.

Like a stone dropped from a cliff, the poor bird plummeted to the ground. The archer, smirking with success, tore the letters from the dead animal and opened them. It confirmed what he suspected but nobody was able to prove, due to the fact that the citizenry of Vale guarded the city so well. The only time it was vulnerable was at night, but all the residents were asleep. They knew.

But now something had to be done.

The Wise One left no holes in his plan. Three Jupiter Adepts accompanied every archer, to send a telepathic signal to the Wise One in Mt. Aleph should they find anything out from the intercepted mail. Right now, they were busy transmitting the data to other Jupiter Adepts who were closer to Vale. They could relay the signal to the Wise One.

There was definitely something to be told now.

-------

Dora awoke in the middle of the night that night. 'That's odd,' she thought to herself. She hardly ever woke up in the middle of the night. The last time she had done that was before Isaac left for his journey throughout Weyard, and that had been out of sheer worry. It felt weird.

It was oddly warm in her room though. She was sweating profusely she noticed. Peeiling off the covers, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. After sitting there for a few minutes, she got up and, intending to get a glass of water, crossed her room and opened the door, expecting to see absolutely nothing beyond the door.

She was greeted with a blast of smoke.

Coughing and gagging, she slammed the door. She staggered back to her bed, and hacked into her bed sheets for a minute or so before regaining control of her breath again. Thinking hard, she wondered what the smoke was from. Did she leave something in the oven? No, she had soup that night. And then she remembered something else.

It was extremely hot that day. There was no way she started a fire to warm the house. It was hot enough as it is. As this dawned on her, this meant only one answer was left, one that she didn't want to accept at all. Not after all her hard work to pull her life back together. There was no denying that her house was on fire.

Not risking opening her door again, she opened her window and bailed out of it onto the soft ground. Sure enough, the front of her small thatched house was ablaze, crackling flames licking the roof and smoke rising in billowing clouds to the sky. Wait . . . billowing clouds? Looking around, she realized that she didn't need her pigeon to come back to get the answer she wanted in her letters to Contigo and Tundris.

Not when the village was on fire.

---------------------------------------------

I'll try my hardest to update before Christmas. Just kidding, I'll update as soon as I can. The geckos are bored, and have an excess of icicles and flames to throw, so review if you know what's good for you!

SirGecko


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